The Forgotten Ones
by KingdomKeyDarkside
Summary: Sora wakes up one night, having he same dream for 2 weeks. but tonight was different. A black-haired girl appears and saves him from the nightmare. He has a feeling that this girl is deeply connected to him. But how? Chapter 11 is up in full!
1. Thinking of you, wherever you are

The Forgotten – a KingdomKeyDarkside fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or Square Enix, or Final Fantasy, or Disney, nor do I own any of the characters in this fanfic.**

Chapter 1 – Thinking of you, wherever you are.

Sora woke up. He had that dream again. Falling into darkness… he hadn't felt that way since he was a heartless. And that girl… Sora could have sworn that it was Kairi, except she had black hair. Every night for the past two weeks he had been slipping into this dream. But the girl only appeared tonight.

Sora moved his feet to the floor. He surveyed his room, almost suspecting a Heartless would show up any second. His room had changed a lot since he returned from his second adventure. There were little pieces from each world he visited scattered around his room. A CD containing Tron's backup data (He had been meaning to boot that up to his computer so he could see Tron more often.), a petal of Beast's rose, and even a sea-salt ice cream stick with the word "winner" written on the side. There was also a Paopu fruit sitting in his bookbag, thrown on his desk yesterday. He would give that to Kairi tomorrow, he had everywhere on the wall were his keychains. Every one he ever had was up there. He had told his mom everything about the Keyblades, the worlds, and the heartless and nobodies, but she didn't see why he had all of them. All his mom was thinking a year ago was "thank goodness, he's back safe and sound."

He hung Rumbling Rose, Hero's Crest, Guardian Soul, and Sleeping Lion on the back of his door. Follow The Wind and Photon Debugger were sitting in the pair of shorts he wore yesterday, which were currently lying under his bed. Monochrome, Sweet Memories, and Fenrir were in the top drawer of his dresser.

But there were three he kept in a box under his bed. Oblivion, Ultima Weapon, and Two Become One were three of his most valued Keychains. Oblivion, because it represented Sora's bond with his best friend, Riku, Ultima Weapon, because it helped him defeat Ansem, Xemnas, and even Sephiroth, and Two Become One, because it represented his bond with Roxas, his Nobody.

But his favorite and most cherished keychain was, without a doubt, Oathkeeper. It was symbolic of Kairi, the girl he loved. He slept with it under his pillow every night. Sora claimed he couldn't sleep without it.

But Kairi was not on his mind right now. Roxas was the only one he could think about. He needed to talk to him. Now.

Sora knew if he left his room too loud, his mom would wake up in a flash. It was 2 o'clock in the morning! He grabbed his shoes and threw on a t-shirt and shorts. Yeah, the dirty shorts that were under his bed. He decided it would be easier to go out his window. It was only a five-foot drop to the ground, and his house was right on the beach, so he would land in sand. He dug under his pillow to grab Oathkeeper, grabbed Oblivion out of the box, and jumped for it.

Sora almost screamed. He landed with a quiet thud, and got himself covered in sand. It was a quick walk to the little boat he used to get to the island where they used to play as little kids. When he got into it he started thinking about Kairi. Sora sighed and spaced out for a minute. A wave almost sent him overboard then. He finally woke up and kept on paddling. He docked his boat and headed for the little island with the bent Paopu tree where the three of them always met. He leaned against the tree, taking his usual stance. The air off the ocean was cool and salty, kind of like that sea-salt ice cream in Twilight Town.

He reminded himself that he had done this before. He only needed focus. He calmed himself and brought up a mental image of Roxas.

"Roxas." Was all he whispered.

A familiar feeling overtook him. He could feel himself splitting into two halves, allowing Roxas to appear. The wind seemed to speed up to a gale force. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and soon the feeling passed. He opened his eyes.

Leaning on the Paopu tree right next to him, just like he was, was a slightly transparent image of Roxas.

"So what's up?" Roxas was curious as to why he was called out. He took full solid form as the first word came out of his mouth.

Sora always gets shocked when he calls Roxas out. "I've been having weird dreams lately. About a girl with black hair. She looks like Kairi." Sora paused. "And I've been feeling like there's another part to us. A third piece."

"Now that you mention it, I can think of someone like that, I may have known her while I was in the Organization. Most of my memories of that year have come back." Roxas stood up straight. "When I think about a girl with black hair, I remember the clock tower in Twilight Town. And sea-salt ice cream. And for some reason, Axel, too. But a third piece? You need your head examined."

"it's so weird. I really want to know who this girl is." Sora stood up straight, too. " I'm gonna contact Donald and Goofy tomorrow and see if they will meet me in Twilight Town. They left me a Gummi Ship last year, when they left."

The two boys began walking. They moved down to the beach and headed for the waterfall. Sora was picking up thlassa shells along the way. Once he picked up five, he kneeled down in the sand, arranged them in a star formation and pulled out Oathkeeper to compare.

"What are you doing?" Roxas was dumbfounded.

"It's just a little mark saying 'I was here' so Riku or Kairi would know. That star is kinda our symbol." Sora stood up and admired his work.

"You really love her, don't you?"

"Who?"

"Kairi, you moron. I may be wandering aimlessly inside that empty head of yours, but I notice everything that you do. I literally see the way you look at her. I can hear your thoughts, too."

"Really?" Sora blushed.

"Yeah. I even know that you have that Paopu in your schoolbag to share with Kairi tomorrow."

Roxas snickered. The look on Sora's face was priceless. His face was as red as Axel's hair.

Sora opened his mouth for a moment, then finally said; "Oh, yeah? What about you and Namine?"

Roxas went silent. _Cheap shot, Sora, cheap shot_. He could feel his face burning red. Nobody said anything until they returned to the boat.

The two continued walking. Eventually, they returned to the little rowboat. Unfortunately for Roxas, the boat was big enough for only one person. It was time for Roxas to return to Sora's body. The two boys closed their eyes. Roxas felt his essence dissolving and mixing with Sora's.

The last thing he said was; "Hey, Sora. Don't forget I'm still here. Call me out more often. Your empty head gets kinda boring!" And he was gone.

He sat down at the edge of the dock, legs dangling in the water. He could still remember the first day when he called him out. It was an accident, but he was pretty happy it happened.

He was in Twilight Town, about six months ago.

_He decided to go visit Hayner, Pence, and Olette. He hadn't seen them in ages. Winter had come to Twilight Town, and everybody was bundled up. Sora would have been severely underdressed, had it not been for his magic clothes. They had transformed into a pair of jeans, a thick sweater, and a hat and scarf. He found the group in the common, buying sea-salt ice cream._

_ "Hey, you guys got enough for a fourth?" Sora went running up to the stand._

_ Olette turned around. "Sora! We haven't seen you in ages!" She was wearing a big, orange flowered jacket with a pair of yellow earmuffs._

_ Hayner punched Sora in the arm. "Sure, we've got enough. Pence lost the race again today, so he's buying." Oddly enough, Hayner was still in his camo pants and t-shirt. _

_ Pence muttered; "Only because you announce the race after you get to the stand." Pence was wearing a massive parka and ski boots._

_` A few minutes later, they were up on the clock tower._

_ "So, what have you been doing since you finished off the Organization?" Olette leaned over to see Sora's face._

_ "Nothing really, just hanging out on the islands." Sora was frozen. How could they eat ice cream in winter?_

_ "Going out with Kairi yet?" Hayner started laughing. Sora was surprised he wasn't an ice cube yet. _

_ Sora blushed furiously. "Maybe, maybe not.'_

_ "That means no." Pence whispered to Hayner._

_ Sora punched Hayner. And then it happened. Tendrils of darkness and light came streaming from Sora's core. The darkness dissipated, leaving only the light. The other three had no idea what was going on, and they shielded themselves. Pence jumped over and covered Olette. Sora felt like he was going to fall off the edge of the clock tower. He held back a scream, and closed his eyes. The wind seemed to speed up. Suddenly, everything was calm. There was Roxas, sitting between Sora and Hayner. _

_ "What just happened?" The other three looked at Sora and Roxas in shock._

_ "Roxas?" Sora was surprised to see his other. _

_ "Dude, we haven't seen you in 18 months!" Hayner was apparently happy to see him. _

_ Pence laughed, "Yeah, the last time we saw you, Hayner got his butt served to him on a silver platter when you owned him at grandstand." Hayner started grumbling something about how Roxas didn't even use a struggle bat._

_ "It's good to see you." Olette smiled._

_ Roxas was pretty surprised they remembered him. "It's great to see all of you."_

_ Sora and Roxas did not return to the islands until the next day. The five of them talked through the night._

Sora snapped back into reality. He looked down at the dock below him.

There were two boats sitting there.

"Sora!"

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	2. Maybe Waiting isn't good enough

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Final Fantasy, or any characters mentioned in this fanfic.  
**

Chapter 2 – Maybe… Waiting isn't good enough.

Kairi discovered that Namine still existed a long time ago. She calls her out whenever she gets lonely, and sometimes they talk through the night. She often thinks to herself that it's like having a sleepover with your best friend. She constantly wonders if Sora has figured it out yet with Roxas.

Kairi had called Namine out tonight, and their topic was boys. Specifically, Sora and Roxas. Both girls were sitting on the bed in pyjama pants and t-shirts.

"Okay, so we can both admit that we are crushing on them." Namine giggled.

"Yeah, Yeah." Kairi threw a pillow at Namine.

"Hey!" Namine ducked just in time.

A few minutes later they decided to make cookies. Kairi grabbed aprons from a cupboard while Namine pulled out ingredients.

"Hey, Nam." Kairi was pulling out a pair of oven mitts.

"What?" Namine looked up from the massive bowl she was pouring things into.

"I've been wondering. What's it like inside my head?"

"Well, its kinda like I am you. I feel everything you feel, see what you see, and even hear what you think."

Kairi blushed. She had thought some pretty private things. Mostly about her and Sora.

"And before you ask, yes. I know all that stuff you think about Sora." Namine sighed. " I feel the exact same way about Roxas."

"Really?" Kairi knew this was going to be an interesting conversation.

"Mmhm." Namine was completely focused on mixing the contents of the bowl. She acted like none of that conversation happened.

They finished making the batter, threw the cookies in the oven and proceeded to sit down and watch TV until they were done. Kairi hoped that her step-dad wouldn't wake up anytime soon. But if he did, they could just give him some cookies and he wouldn't care. He knew all about Namine, and how she was Kairi's Nobody. He couldn't wrap his head around it though.

Namine gasped suddenly.

Kairi was surprised. "What's wrong?"

"I can sense him… He's out."

Kairi shook Namine playfully. "Who? Who's out?"

"Roxas."

Kairi's jaw dropped. She was about to ask where he was, but she already knew. She grabbed Namine's arm and ran to her room.

"What's up?" Namine was really confused.

"We need to go to the little island. Sora and Roxas are there."

The girls put their normal clothes on and and headed down to the dock. Kairi had a boat big enough for the two of them. They paddled as hard as they could and got to the island in a matter of minutes.

They began running towards the island with the paopu trees where they usually met. But Namine tripped on some shells. Kairi looked at them. Five thlassa shells in the shape of a star. They were most definitely here.

"He's gone. Back in Sora." Namine stated.

Back at Kairi's house the buzzer on the oven dinged. The oven shut off by itself. Kairi's Dad walked down the stairs to smell fresh chocolate chip cookies. He grabbed a few and went back to bed.

Author's Note: Sorry, this chapter was a bit shorter. I didn't have much inspiration.

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	3. We'll be together every day Right, Sora

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Final Fantasy, or any characters mentioned in this fanfic. All rights to their respective owners.**

Chapter 3 - We'll be together every day. Right, Sora?

Sora turned around. He saw Kairi and-Namine? Running towards him. So she had figured it out, he though to himself. He ran towards them, Roxas forcing his way out as he went. Kairi and Namine stopped in shock.

"Kairi!"

"Sora!"

"Namine!"

"Roxas!"

Kairi and Sora embraced. Roxas and Namine did likewise. After what seemed like hours, the two pairs broke apart.

Sora was confused. "How did you know we were here?"

Kairi pointed at Namine. "She sensed your aura, Roxas."

Roxas seemed slightly surprised. He didn't think Nobodies had auras.

Sora cut in, saying; "Well, why did you come out to the island?"

Namine shrugged. Kairi giggled. "I thought you would want to see Roxas."

Namine and Roxas both went red at her explanation.

"But more importantly," Kairi added, "What are you two doing here?"

"I needed to talk to Roxas in private." Sora kicked up some sand.

"About…"

"Well, I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like, is any of this for real, or not?" Sora burst out laughing after he finished talking. So did Kairi. It was an inside joke between Sora, Kairi and Riku. Namine and Roxas just shrugged.

"No, I'm just kidding. I've been having weird dreams. About falling into darkness, and a girl with black hair that looks like you, Kairi, but wearing a black Organization XIII cloak."

"What did you think, Roxas?" Namine was curious. She vaguely remembers a girl like that.

"Well, three things came to mind, the Twilight Town clock tower, sea-salt ice cream, and Axel." Roxas paused for a moment. "Wait, why are we still standing here in the middle of the beach? Let's go sit down somewhere. This could be a long conversation."

The other three nodded. They began walking towards the Paopu island. Roxas and Namine both stopped for a second. The smelled the cool, salty air of the ocean.

"Sea-salt ice cream." They both said in unison. Roxas and Namine smiled at each other. The group continued walking.

Sora stopped before crossing the bridge. "You know, the Paopu island may not be private enough. Riku, Selphie, Tidus, or Wakka could come along at any moment and overhear our conversation."

Roxas nodded. "Good point. But where should we go?"

Kairi and Sora looked at each other. "The secret place." They turned around and started running. Namine and Roxas shrugged, and followed suit.

All four of them reached the entrance with no problem. Sora moved the vines blocking the entrance and ushered everybody in. He looked outside to check if anybody was there. Dead silence. He slid in and the vines returned to their original state.

Sora walked in. Everybody was sitting down somewhere. Kairi was on a rock close to the world door, Roxas had himself propped up against the right wall, and Namine was moving around everywhere, admiring the 'art' drawn on the walls of the cave.

Namine was looking at the picture of Sora and Kairi. "Aww, that's so cute!"

She didn't need any explanation of who that was. Sora sat down next to Kairi.

"Okay, it's obvious that your dream means something. But what exactly does it mean?" Kairi wanted to get right down to business.

"It could possibly mean that this girl may be a vital part of Sora." Namine was curious as to who the girl was.

"I have no idea. But I'm taking the gummi ship out to Disney Castle tomorrow. I need to talk to the King." Sora shrugged. He was determined to find out who this girl was.

"Then it's settled. We'll all head out tomorrow." Roxas stood up straight. Kairi and Namine nodded.

Sora was surprised. "You really want to come? All of you?"

"Of course. Don't you remember last year, we promised each other that we'd be together every day?" Kairi turned to Sora, smiling.

"Oh." Sora was extremely glad, but slightly shocked that they all wanted to come.

"I'll come. But on one condition. You do not return me back to your body the whole time." Roxas wanted to be sure he wasn't going to be neglected again.

"Deal." Sora and Roxas shook hands. "So, I guess we all meet back here tomorrow at 8 am, then."

"We'll be here."

On that note, everybody went back to the main isle. Kairi and Namine snuck into their house through the back door. Sora and Roxas had to do a high jump up to Sora's window. Roxas didn't want to go back to Sora just as soon as they got home. Reluctantly, Sora grabbed a sleeping bag and threw a pillow on the ground next to his bed.

Roxas smiled to himself. He had made plans to meet Namine at the secret place an hour early. He crawled into his sleeping bag and dreamt of the girl with black hair.

Sora woke up at 7:15. He had called Donald and Goofy, but they were unable to answer. _Looks like we're going to them. _He looked to the floor to check on was gone. He looked over at his dresser. Last night, there was a bottle of cologne sitting there, waiting to be used. He assumed Roxas had taken that too. _Oh no._

Sora rushed over to the other side of his room and ripped open his schoolbag. No Paopu. Sora was about to scream. He covered his face with a pillow and let it all out. He didn't want to wake his mom. _He didn't._

Sora reached under his bed to grab his little box. No Oblivion. He checked under his pillow. No Oathkeeper. _I am going to kill my own Nobody._

Luckily, he still had Ultima Weapon and Two Become One. He grabbed those and summoned his Keyblade. Riku had taught him how to use the Synch Blade ability outside of drive forms. He grasped the handle with two hands. Slowly, but forcefully, he pulled them apart. His Keyblade split in two. There, in his hands, were two perfect replicas of the Kingdom Key. He detached the keychains and applied Ultima Weapon and Two Become One. He jumped out the window in a rage. He ran all the way to the corner of his street before looking down. There he was, wielding two Keyblades in his underwear. He glided back to his house and put on his usual attire. Then he realized he didn't even have to jump out of his window last night. He could have just glided to the docks. He smacked himself on the head.

**Okay, Guys. 6 reviews and Chapter 4 goes up!**

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	4. You make a good other

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Final Fantasy, or any characters mentioned in this fanfic. All rights to their respective owners.**

Chapter 4 – You make a good other.

Sora was so pissed with Roxas. He took his two favorite keychains, his cologne, his Paopu for Kairi, and now he had even taken his boat. He almost considered swimming, but then he remembered he could glide over. He ran to the spot where he had laid out the thlassa shell star. Next to it were four shells making Roxas' spike symbol. Sora stepped on them and kept moving.

He went to the secret place and hid in the darkness. He could see a single candle lighting the cave. He smelled the air and recognized his cologne. Roxas was here. He peeked inside to see Namine with him._ You sly dog, _he thought. He moved back for a second and stepped on something very soft. There was the Paopu. Sora picked it up. He hadn't squished it. He brushed it off and set it aside.

"Who's that for?" a voice said behind him.

He turned around to see Kairi standing there in her pink dress. He blushed furiously.

"Uhh, ummm, nobody. I had this in my room and Roxas stole it from me." Sora knew she saw right through his lie.

"Okay… and would that 'nobody' happen to be a girl by the name of, well just guessing, but Kairi?" She smiled. Sora really sucked at lying.

"Maybe."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him. "Let's go to the Paopu tree."

Sora allowed himself a knowing grin. "Okay."

The two walked to the island and sat down on the tree. The little island pointed towards the sun when it rose. The horizon painted the rough water deep shades of orange and pink. Kairi laid her head on Sora's shoulder.

"Do you remember, when were 14 and we tried to visit new worlds on a wooden raft? The sun was just like this. I wanted to leave without Riku and just go with you." Kairi smiled.

"Yeah." Sora thought about it. _How stupid we were. Thinking we could get to places like Twilight Town and Agrabah on a little raft._

"The truth is, I didn't want to leave without Riku because he had changed. I wanted to go with you and only you from the very beginning."

"Really? I felt the exact same way." Sora started to put the pieces together. _Her reaction in The World That Never Was when she saw me again, the drawing of her giving me a Paopu back,_ _she said that we'll be together every day,_ and _she was the only one to remember me when I was asleep! _Sora also remembered the letter in a bottle that she wrote to him. He had found out that sky translated to sora in Japanese, and the letter my have had a double meaning. "There are many worlds, but they share the same Sora. One Sora, one destiny.", and "We hope that our hearts will blend' were lines in the letter, which may mean she wanted something more between them.

"I love you, Sora, and I always have. I hope you feel the same way." Kairi audibly muttered.

Sora was dumbfounded. She actually said it. He was mentally paralyzed for a moment. And then his lips finally moved. "There is not a doubt in my mind, that I love you with all my heart." And they sealed it with a kiss.

Sora's heart did a backflip. It was his first kiss. He could tell it was Kairi's first too. Not that she was bad; something inside him knew she had been waiting for him. Something about it just sprung up a thought in Sora's head. _This is truly perfection. I know now, without a doubt, that she is the girl for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with her._

They broke apart after what seemed like days of pure bliss. Neither of them wanted to stop, but there was one thing they had to attend to.

"Wow." They both whispered as they broke apart. Kairi returned her head to the space between Sora's own head and shoulder. Sora put his arm around her. They looked out at the sunrise and sighed.

"So, should we do it?" Sora was curious. He was 100 percent ready for it.

"I think couples should wait a while before that, but we can make an exception," She gazed up into Sora's deep, blue eyes and he looked back. They were ready.

Sora summoned his Keyblade, but something was missing. He looked down the beach. There it was. Lying right there, next to the waterfall.

"I'll be back in a minute." Sora jumped up and glided over to the secret place. He picked it up and brought it back to his new girlfriend.

"There. Now we can share it." Sora was just about to cut it, until…

"SORA!" Roxas screamed at the top of his lungs.

Sora and Kairi turned around. Roxas was down on the beach, running toward the island. Sora squinted, and in the distance, saw Namine standing in the entrance to the secret place, looking out at Roxas in shame.

"So that's where Namine was. With Roxas." Kairi smiled to herself and thought;_ two more happy couples on the island. _She had woken up to find Namine gone this morning, with one of her bras missing along with a bottle of perfume Sora had brought her from Atlantica. How she loved that world. She turned to Sora, but he wasn't there. She looked down the rope bridge, and saw Sora dashing to face Roxas on the beach. She shook her head.

The boys met on the beach. Keyblades were summoned. Roxas threw his arms down one by one, summoning Oathkeeper and Oblivion in his hands. Sora rIsaed his arms up. They came down, Ultima Weapon in his right, in a regular grip, and Two Become One in his left, in an inverted grip, facing backwards.

Roxas made the first move. He crossed his Keyblades, and made an X-slash aimed at Sora's torso. "Paopu stealer." He muttered under his breath.

Sora pulled Two Become One forward, absorbing the blow from Roxas' move. He pushed Roxas back with the same Keyblade, and performing Strike Raid with Ultima Weapon, knocked Roxas into the ocean. "I picked it, you hypocrite."

In the flurry of steel, both girls began to worry about their boyfriends. Roxas got back up, jumped into the air, and used Final Arts on Sora. Oathkeeper and Oblivion came crashing into him, sending him flying over to Namine. He stood up after little struggle, looked over at her, and shot her a quick "Hey, what's up?" before getting back into the fray.

Sora jumped over to Roxas, running by him, quickly whispering; "Winner gets the Paopu." Before gliding over to the top of the seaside shack. Sora focused himself, and prepared Ragnarok. Beams of energy came flowing from the tip of his Keyblade, homing in on Roxas. He rolled out of the way, only to be hit from behind. Roxas fell over. Seeing his chance, Sora jumped behind him, waiting for him to get up. Roxas was on one knee, and Sora saw his window of opportunity. He performed Ars Arcanum to send Roxas packing. But Roxas countered just in time. He jumped up into the air to activate Magic Hour. Pillars of light came crashing down on Sora. He dodged nearly every one of them, until he activated his Final Limit. Bigger pillars came down, and Sora dodged all but the last. He got back up, the boys now exchanging equal blows. Somebody had to break the stalemate. There was only one move that could save him now. He focused himself, and imagined all of his power flowing into the Keyblade.

"_Zantetsuken,_" he whispered. Roxas came running towards him, Keyblades held high. Sora waited, and waited, and waited, and then swung. One hit, and Roxas was sent flying.

Roxas landed on the shore, flat on his back. Sora knew the battle was over. He just hoped that Roxas was ok. He ran over to him as fast as he could. Namine was worried._ What if Sora killed him? _She ran out and stopped where the beach met land.

Kairi freaked out._ Sora, you idiot! You could have killed him! _She dashed to the opposite edge of the rope bridge.

Sora finally reached Roxas' body. Roxas sat up and gave Sora a scornful look. "Zantetsuken. That was dirty." His expression changed to a wide smile. The two boys began to laugh. Sora helped Roxas up.

"Sorry. Should have asked." And with that, Roxas returned Oathkeeper and Oblivion to Sora's palm. He also slipped the bottle of cologne into Sora's pocket.

The sun had made its full appearance by now. Kairi ran over to Sora, and Namine to Roxas. Both girls punched them playfully. "You idiots! What were you fighting over anyway?"

Sora picked the Paopu up. "Roxas stole this from my room. I guess I overreacted a little bit."

Namine interjected. "Well, I guess we'll leave you two be." She giggled and gave Roxas a stern look. They returned to the secret place. Before Roxas went, he reached up and picked a Paopu off the tree. He winked at Sora and Kairi and walked away.

Kairi grabbed Sora's hand. "Now, where were we?" Kairi dragged Sora over to the little island. Sora gave a contented sigh, like a boy in love, and followed her.

_Ok, let's try this again._ Sora pulled out his Keyblade to cut the fruit. He touched the blade to the skin of the fruit, and heard "So, you're finally doing it, huh?"

**You will never guess who I'm gonna introduce in the next chapter! Well... maybe you will. Leave your guesses in the reviews, and after I get a few, or a right guess, the next chapter goes up.**

**Hint: there are 2 people being introduced in the next chapter. Eye color: One has green eyes. the other one: lives on destiny islands.  
**


	5. Cause I'm not a total sap like you

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Final Fantasy, or any characters mentioned in this fanfic. All rights to their respective owners.**

Chapter 5 – 'Cause I'm not a total sap like you.

Riku walked up the makeshift bridge. "So, when's the wedding?"

Sora almost threw the Paopu into the ocean. He hid it under the tree instead. They turned around to see Riku. Sora and Kairi looked at each other and laughed. Their faces were bright red.

Riku laughed. He leaned over and picked up the Paopu from under the tree. "Great hiding place, Sora." He jumped up onto the tree to join them and ruin their moment.

Sora pretended to be happy. "Riku, I haven't seen you in weeks! Where have you been?" His voice had an obvious undertone of sarcasm.

"Studying. I'm in my last year of high school, unlike you two, so I can't run around sharing Paopus in secret all day long." This just made Sora and Kairi more embarrassed.

"Well, then. Why aren't you studying now?" Kairi gave Riku a look that said, _Go away. Now. _

"Okay, okay. I catch your drift. Heard about your dream, Sora. Hope you don't mind me tagging along with you two lovebirds later today." Riku got up and began to leave.

"It's actually four!" Kairi shouted after him. Sora was thinking, _Riku must be psychic! But how are we going to fit five people into my little gummi ship?_

Riku turned around. Sora looked at Kairi. "Who else?" they both said in shock.

Kairi punched Sora, but not Riku. "Namine and Roxas, you morons."

Riku was completely out of the loop. "Roxas and Namine came out of… you?"

"Yeah. We can call them out any time we want. If you took time to be with us, you would know that." Sora said, sounding matter-of-factly.

"Okay. Weird."

Just then, a cry was heard from inside the secret place. "AXEL!" and then moments later, "I MEAN, LEA!" The three began running, Riku now brandishing Way to the Dawn as he always did.

"So, what brought about this little gathering?"

Sora grabbed Kairi's hand. "It's a long story." And for what seemed like the millionth time, he told somebody about his dream.

(POV switch)

Before he came in, Roxas was cutting the paopu fruit that he had picked as he walked over to the secret place. Namine had drawn a picture of them sharing a paopu on the wall right next to the one of Sora and Kairi. Roxas had brought her a piece of the paopu, and they were about to share it.

Something came over Roxas. _Stupid hormones._ "Namine, screw it." She had finished her picture, and was about to take a bite. Roxas jumped on the moment and began kissing her fiercely.

Roxas and Namine were in the middle of making out when he walked in. He just had a feeling that they would be there. Roxas broke away from his girlfriend when he looked up. He did not recognize him until he pulled off his hood, and the flaming red hair came streaming out.

"Got it memorized?" Lea randomly uttered his almost overused catchphrase.

Roxas looked up. "Okay, first of all, that made no sense, second of all, WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? And third, AXEL!!!"

"Dude, the name's Lea now. Got it memorized?" This time it actually made sense.

Lea was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, and a black hoodie with a red flame pattern on it. _Looks like somebody was a little clingy to the organization uniform. _

Roxas was still pretty pissed. So instead he yelled; "I MEAN LEA!"

Namine spoke up. "I thought you were dead." She ran up to him and gave him a hug. Roxas was confused.

"I thought you hated him."

"No, all of Castle Oblivion was our plan. We both shared a mutual interest of getting all of the others killed, and so we worked together, and brought almost half of that wretched Organization down." Axel unzipped his hoodie, revealing a bright red t-shirt with a silver print of Eternal Flames (For those who haven't played 358/2 Days, that is the name of the chakrams he uses in KHII.) down the side, and admired the art behind him that Namine had drawn.

Roxas understood now. "So, Lea… Why are you still alive?"

"I could ask you the same question. But you guys never died, you just re-merged with your Somebodies. My Heartless was dead, then my nobody died, and after Kingdom Hearts was exploded by Ansem's data encoder, the pieces merged."

"Oh." Whichever way it happened, Roxas was just happy it did. "So, do you think the rest of the Organization is alive again?"

Axel shrugged. "I'm not sure. I did see Demyx a while ago in Twilight Town, but he was pretty chill. He goes by Dyme now, and he's working at a café, playing music. He hangs out with Hayner, Pence and Olette a lot.. I don't even think that if the members of the Organization were alive, that they would still be pissed with you and Sora. They have their hearts, and they should be happy. Except for Xehanort, and maybe Relena. He's probably a little pissed that he couldn't rule the universe, and she's just pissy in general."

"Eternal PMS." Roxas laughed at the joke from so long ago.

"Moving on…" Lea wanted to get this conversation moving. "Are you guys going out, or what?"

The young couple blushed. _Was everybody psychic around here?_

Namine spoke up. "Yes, yes we are."

Just then, Riku, Kairi, and Sora came bursting in. "Whazzat?! Whatsgoingon?"

Sora's voice was just a slur of words. Riku pointed Way to the Dawn at Lea's face. Kairi summoned her Keyblade and did the same.

"Axel." Kairi gave him an icy look. Riku did too.

Sora ran up to him, and gave him a fist bump. "Dude! You're alive!" Sora really couldn't help making friends with everyone. He was still grateful after that incident in between Twilght Town and The World That Never Was.

"The name's Lea now. I'm no Nobody anymore. Got it memorized?" Axel placed his forefinger on his temple. He was starting to get annoyed at how many times he had to say his catchphrase.

Kairi and Riku smiled, accepting Lea's alibi. "So, did you come because you heard about Sora's dream?" Riku asked.

"What dream?"

Sora groaned. One million and one times he had told the story now. "So, a girl with black hair, you say. Part of the Organization. Huh." Lea was just as confused as the rest of them were, if not more.

"Yeah, we're going to Disney Castle to talk to the King about it later today. But, if six people are going, I'll need to make the gummi ship bigger."

"Sure, I'll come." Lea was all for it.

"Wow. This is the biggest my group for traveling has ever been." Sora was happy that all of his friends were coming. "All of my old friends, heading out on a new adventure with me."

Sora left to go enlarge the gummi ship. His mom already knew that he was going, and he made sure that Kairi's dad and Riku's mom knew too. Riku left with him, to help.

A half hour later, and they were in Sora's garage, working on the ship.

"Pass me the warp-G." Sora called over to Riku. He bounced it on the ground over to Sora. Sora picked it up, along with turbo and shield gummies. About an hour later, and they were ready to roll. Sora and Riku went inside the ship to see how big it was.

"Dude, this is big enough for nine people!" Riku was surprised at all the extra work they did.

" Exactly. I just thought ahead. What if Donald and Goofy want to come with us? Or even the King?" For once, Sora had actually done something productive.

"Good thinking." They opened the garage. Both boys were too tired to walk and then row back to the island. They hopped in the ship, and Sora showed Riku the controls.

They were airborn. The two boys decided to have a little fun. Sora had installed a Tractor-G, a block that allowed them to pull things up into their ship. They flew directly over where the other four were waiting, and settled about twenty feet up. Sora hit the switch, and heard screams.

Moments later, Riku and Sora had fallen out of their chairs laughing. The other four were lying in a heap, their facial expressions suggesting that they thought they actually were abducted by aliens. The two girls got up, punched the boys, and sat in the back of the ship. Roxas and Axel just muttered something under their breath and took their spots.

They were now free of the world's barrier, flying around in "space". Sora had installed a Hyper Warp-G, so traveling to the castle was a matter of seconds.

_**Keep Reviewing, Everybody! I have 12 reviews and 312 views on this story. Please keep them coming! There will be rewards! (Rewards: me being compelled to write the story and post it faster.)**_


	6. Door to the light

**Well, Eclipse_Darkness guessed right. and he found a loophole in my question. Here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Disney, Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, or Final Fantasy.  
**

Chapter 6 – Don't worry. There will always be a door to the light.

Chip and Dale were working on the King's personal Gummi ship when Sora's came in. The docking bay only had three spots, and two were already occupied. One, by the King's ship, and the other by the Gummi ship Sora, Donald and Goofy had used. When Sora's ship had come crashing in, the chipmunks were almost killed. Chip sighed, thinking; _Somebody needs to teach that kid how to land a Gummi ship. _The panel door opened, and out walked Sora, Riku, Roxas, Namine, Lea, and Kairi. Roxas almost stepped on Dale.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Dale squeaked. Roxas looked around, trying to find the voice. "Down here!"

"Oh, sorry." Roxas kneeled down and patted Dale on the head. Dale bit his finger. Roxas felt tempted to kick him into the wall.

Sora and the rest of the group were already ahead. "Roxas, come on!" Sora shouted. Roxas ran after them.

The walk to the throne room was anything but long, but the same could not be said for the room itself. As they arrived at the door, mouths were agape. Sora remembered the key to getting in. He pointed his Keyblade at the grand door, and a beam of light shot out. Everyone was expecting the doors to burst open, but a very small section of it opened up. Sora reminisced about last year as he stepped through the doorframe. That room had housed over 100 Bolt Towers, and he had to defeat them all. However, everybody else was stunned by the size of the room. They had to squint in order to see the King and Queen sitting at the end of the hall. The 6 began running, just to arrive at the thrones in under 10 minutes.

As they reached the thrones, all were tired except for Sora and Riku. The other four had fallen over, eyes closed, unable to see the man who was already making an appeal to the King. However, Sora and Riku could see the man clearly, and made no mistake in identifying him.

"So, you see, Your Majesty, there really is no other option for this matter." A familiar, cool voice spoke.

"Very well. Thank you very much, Isa." The King seemed to ignore Sora and Riku.

Isa turned around to see the two boys brandishing Keyblades. "Well, I never expected to see you too again." He brushed his blue hair out of his face, revealing the X-shaped scar.

"Saix, what are you doing here?" Sora pointed Ultima Weapon towards Isa, a ball of flame gathering at the tip.

The King jumped at the sight of the other Keyblade wielders. "Hold on, boys. Don't do anything hasty. I believe introductions are in order. This is Isa. He is my royal consort."

Sora and Riku did away with their Keyblades. Lea got up just then, not hearing the king's last comment. He saw Isa and went into a fury. "You." A flurry of dancing flames overtook the room. Tendrils of white and black thorns stretched down Lea's arms. In his hands appeared two red and silver chakrams. Lea's clothes were covered by a long, black coat. The flames dissipated, and there stood Axel. A large claymore appeared in the hands of Isa. A black coat covered his regal uniform. Saix was in existence once more. Moonlight shone in the middle of the day.

The two men met in the middle of the room, preparing to battle. However, large crosses of light and an invisible barrier kept the two newly reborn Nobodies from exchanging blows. Roxas and Namine were fighting to prevent their fight.

The King did not want a fight either. He, the Queen, and Sora all shot Pearl spells at the Nobodies. Seconds later they reverted to themselves. "Isa! You are dismissed. I am very disappointed in you." The King had a look of anger on his face.

Isa reverted to kiss-$$ery, like he did with Xemnas as a Nobody. "Very sorry, Your Highness, it will not happen again." He shot a dirty look at Lea, and ran out the door.

Lea apologized rather casually. "Sorry, dude." Sora hit him. "I mean… Your Highness." He then bowed down to the King, still not at eye level with him.

Mickey's expression returned to a smile. "I take it you two have a personal history, then?"

"Yes."

"Very well, then." Mickey turned to the rest of the group. "And what brings you to the castle?"

Sora was the first to speak. "Well, there is a matter that I need to talk to you about. If you do not mind, Your Grace, I would like it to be in private."

The King thought about it. "Alright. We will speak in my room." Mickey rose from his throne, and began to walk down the red carpet that split the room. He then stopped and turned around. "Minnie, if you wouldn't mind, could you entertain our other guests?" The Queen nodded and beckoned for the others to follow.

Mickey's room was not far from the throne room. There was a large portrait of him in the hall, right next to the grand door to the throne room. He summoned his Keyblade, and a beam of light shot out from the golden tip. It made contact with the large jewel in the center of the painting's crown. A set of stairs appeared, and the King walked up it. The stairs went straight into the portrait, and Mickey passed right through the painting. Sora followed suit.

It was a long, arduous walk from the hallway. There must have been a hundred steps. After what seemed to be an hour, they arrived at a door. The King opened it, and Sora was surprised. Mickey was quite the humble king. This room was quite small, and contained a small cot, two chairs and a table. It seemed to be quite high up, and there were arrows sticking out of the stone wall, suggesting this was an old archery tower. Sora looked out the window, and saw the entirety of Disney Town, the small city surrounding the castle, and he could even see the barriers of the world. He expected a large, glorious room, with gold and silver adorning everything.

Mickey smiled. He could see the surprise in Sora's expression. "I assure you, this is not my bedroom. This is merely my study, but I do spend most of my time here." The king then took a seat at his table. "Please, sit down. I want you to tell me everything."

"Well, your Majesty, I have been having weird dreams for the past two weeks. In this dream, there have been three people, other than myself. Roxas, Kairi, and Riku. Whenever I attempted to approach them, They transform into Darksides, and Roxas turns into a Twilight Thorn. Every time I attempt to summon my Keyblade, but nothing happens. Darkness then engulfs me, and I become a Heartless, like I did two years ago. Every night I have had this dream. I have the same dream all night, and I cannot wake up. But last night, salvation came. A black haired girl, in an Organization coat, summoned a Keyblade and saved me. I thanked her, and asked her for her name. She said nothing, and I woke up." Sora finally stopped.

The King thought for a second. "Well, that is very interesting. A girl with black hair… Did you see her face?"

"Yes, I did." Sora sat up. "She had my eyes… and her… Kairi's face."

"What Keyblade was she using? Did it look familiar?"

"Yes. In fact, it was the Kingdom Key."

"Oh… Sora," Mickey stopped. "that means she is connected to you somehow. When two people use a Keyblade that is the same, or even looks the same, it means that they share a great bond."

"Well, I had a feeling about that already. But I feel like time is of the essence. Almost as if I'm gonna slip into darkness yet again."

"Well, darkness or no darkness, I feel that you and your friends must stay the night. It is quite close to nightfall. We have plenty of room."

"Your Highness..."

"Please, Sora. Just call me Mickey. You are my equal in every way."

"Mickey, I do not wish to impose."

"Oh, you won't. Dinner is in an hour. One of the brooms will show you to your room. After you are settled, by all means, go visit Donald and Goofy. Donald is in the Mage's wing, and Goofy will most likely be practicing out on the range."

"Thank you very much, Mickey." Sora left the King to collect his thoughts.

Mickey lay down on the cot and sighed. He knew this could not be good. He pulled out a pen and paper and began to write.

**Okay, this is where it ends. All of these chapters I posted were already written, before I even made this account, and I have slowed down drastically in the last week. I will now post chapters as I finish them, and after I get a set number of reviews. I am currently writing chapter 7, and I am stuck halfway through. I should be done within the next 2 weeks, but by all means, keep reviewing!**


	7. Starts With an S

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Final Fantasy, or any of the songs mentioned in this fanfic.**

**This chapter gets a little modernized. But it makes for good humor.  
**

Chapter 7 ~ Starts with an S.

Sora felt odd following a living broom. The guest quarters were quite far from the throne room and Mickey's study. He had rejoined Roxas, Riku, and Lea. They told him that Minnie had led them to the practice grounds and they decided to stay there and spar. Apparently, Namine and Kairi had stayed in the kitchens to help Daisy, Minnie and a handful of brooms prepare dinner.

"Wait, did you guys see Goofy there? The King said that he would be there." Sora really wanted to see his friend.

"Nope, the range is huge. He probably was there, but we didn't see him." Riku felt sorry for Sora. He seems to get separated from his friends a lot.

There was a guard standing at the entrance to the guest wing. "How many?"

"Six." Sora replied.

The guard checked his list. He shook his head. "Very sorry, but we only have four open guest rooms right now. However, two of these rooms have two beds in them. Would anybody mind sharing rooms?"

Roxas looked at Sora. Sora nodded. "Me and Sora will share a room, and our friends Kairi and Namine will share the other."

"Very well then." The guard lifted his spear and allowed them to pass. The broom gave them the keys to their rooms, and gave Sora the key for Kairi and Namine's. He inserted the key and walked into his room. It was grand. Two queen sized beds, a large bathroom, and even a balcony. _Wow._ Was all he could think. Roxas crashed on a bed. Sora threw him the key.

"I've got some stuff to take care of." And with that, Sora left.

The broom had given him a map of the whole castle. The mage's wing was extremely close to his room. He went there first.

Sora had to climb another grueling flight of stairs. Donald, being the Royal Magician, just _had _to have his room at the top of the tower. Upon arriving at the top of the tower, there was no door. A small panel was attached to the wall, bearing 5 symbols. Sora inspected them, and saw a large fireball, a blizzard, a thunderbolt, a tornado, and a medical cross. He knew what he had to do.

"_Firaga._" He whispered. A large fireball encompassed the room. The symbol of the fireball ignited, and the fireball dissipated. "_Blizzaga." _The room was overcome by snow. The symbol became cold to the touch. "_Thundaga._" A cloud occupied the top of the room and let out a massive thunderbolt. Its symbol began to spark. "_Aeroga_." A tornado encompassed the space and vanished. Wind began to circle the symbol. "_Curaga." _The room became bright. Sora felt himself be healed.

The final symbol began to glow. The entire panel vanished, and in its place a door appeared. Sora took an ether out to drink just in case. He opened the door to see Donald practicing spells on an unfortunate apprentice.

"Donald!" Sora said in disapproval.

Donald turned around. "Who's there? How did you get in? Sora!" He ran up to Sora and tackled him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see the King." Sora pushed Donald off playfully.

"About…"

"A dream I've been having." Sora told Donald the tale of his dream, and Mickey's comments.

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I just came to visit you guys." Sora smiled. "Wanna come with me to see Goofy?"

"Sure. Even I haven't seen Goofy in a while." Donald began to leave. He turned around and said, "Curaga." The apprentice he had been torturing was healed. "You can go." The apprentice scurried out the door and fell down the stairs in a frenzy.

The practice range was a large courtyard situated behind the library, and one could overlook the whole range from there. The King often did that, longing to join in, but he would be too powerful for them, and Minnie would not allow it.

It took a while to find Goofy, but Sora summoning his Keyblade seemed to do the trick. Donald and Goofy had been trained to sense the Keyblade, and when Goofy felt its presence, he went running towards it. Without thinking, he tackled whoever it was, hoping it was not The King, Roxas, or Riku. He had sensed them before, but they were on the other side of the range.

"Sora!" Goofy shouted happily.

"Hey! What's new?" Sora was ecstatic to see his old friend.

"Well, The King moved me up to Royal Strategist, and I'm still head of the guards. But there is one more thing. Me and Clarabelle, we had a son." Goofy was glad that his two best friends finally knew.

Sora and Donald were speechless. "Really? That's great! Did you name him after me?" Sora always knew what to say.

"No, we named him Max." Goofy slapped his hand on his forehead.

Donald sucked at expressing his emotions. He yelled; "Why didn't you tell me?" He was actually really happy for him.

"Well, I never see…." Goofy stopped halfway. Donald was hugging him. (**Author's Note: THIS IS NOT MEANT TO SUGGESITVE OF A YAOI OF DONALD AND GOOFY. DONALD IS JUST REALLY HAPPY FOR HIM AND HAS NOT SHOWN REAL EMOTION IN YEARS.**)

"I'm so happy for you buddy! I can't believe it!" And then Donald started crying. He let go of Goofy. Sora was going to burst out laughing any moment.

Sora checked his watch. They had five minutes to get to the dining hall. Sora grabbed Donald and Goofy and began running.

"Sora, where are we going?" Donald asked.

"Dinner… in… five… minutes…" Sora panted. He was running as fast as he could. Donald and Goofy wrestled free and ran alongside him. They began gliding, and they moved faster. They got a lot of weird looks from the brooms and denizens of the castle. They glided through the mechanic courtyard, and arrived at the throne room. Roxas, Riku, and Lea joined them in running.

"C'mon! The dining room is just down the hall!" Sora yelled as he went into valor form. _Thank goodness for Quick Run. _He powered down and entered the room. He looked at his watch. _Right on time. _The Queen and Isa were already there. He took a seat at the table and sighed. The others came in and followed suit. A few minutes later, The King walked in and took his place at the head of the table.

"Sorry I'm late." He said to Minnie.

"It's no problem. Sora and his friends came in just minutes ago." Minnie gave the King a smile. Kairi and Namine walked in and sat down next to Sora and Roxas.

"Ok, everyone's here. Before we start dinner, I have a small gift for each of you." Mickey said as a broom came out with small, individual packages on a silver platter. "I had been anticipating your arrival, because Master Yen Sid had seen in in a vision. There was a gift I was meaning to give all of you a long time ago, but I didn't have them back then."

The broom went around the table, passing out the packages. Sora got a golden one, Roxas got a yellow one, Kairi got a pink one, Riku got an orange one, Namine got a white one, Lea got a red one, and Isa got a blue one. "Go ahead, open them." The King said.

Sora tore his open like a little kid on Christmas. Namine and Kairi unfolded the wrappings, saving the paper. Lea burnt the paper off his, which startled everyone. Roxas ripped a hole out of the paper, and pulled out the contents. Riku ripped his open casually. Isa waited until everyone else had opened their boxes, and stared at the his own Lea got impatient and burned the paper off.

Everyone opened their boxes. They all pulled out a cell phone and an mp3 player.

Sora admired his cellphone, a white and gold slide phone with a QWERTY keyboard. It had a black print of the Kingdom Key on the back. His mp3 player had a touch screen, and it had the same colour scheme and print as his cell phone. Roxas had gotten Sora's phone and mp3 player in dark yellow with a silver print of his nobody spikes. Lea got a red touch screen phone with Eternal Flames on the back, which matched his shirt. He also got a small, compact mp3 player with the same design. Kairi got a pink phone with a full keyboard on it, without a flip or slide. It had a white print of a Paopu on the back. Kairi also got a small mp3 player with a 1.5 inch screen and a trackpad. Namine got the same things with an inverted colour scheme. Riku got a bright orange touch screen phone with a slide out keyboard. There was a black Heartless emblem on the back. He got the same mp3 player as Sora and Roxas. Isa obtained a blue touch screen phone with silver nobody emblem emblazoned across the back. His mp3 player looked exactly the same as his phone. Donald and Goofy smiled. They knew that these guys were going to have trouble figuring them out.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" They all said in unison.

"You are all very welcome. Just imagine how much easier your first adventures would have been if you had these!" The King laughed.

**Inside Sora's head**

_Sora was in Castle Oblivion. His phone rang. It was Namine. "Hey, Sora, I'm not the one who you are searching for. Organization 13 made me mess up your memory so you thought I was the one you were trying to find so that they could use you. The real girl's name is Kairi. I'm her Nobody, too. Bye!" one adventure simplified._

_ Sora called Riku. "Dude, where are you?"_

_ Riku answered; 'For the millionth time, Sora, I don't want to be found!"_

_ "Is that you talking to the emperor of the Land of The Dragons?"_

_ "Yeah, why?"_

_ "Turn around."_

_ Riku hung up and turned around. Sora was standing there. Riku pulled his hood down._

_ "It's Riku… Riku's here! I looked everywhere for you!" Sora began to cry. _

_ Riku smacked his head._

_ "Where's Kairi?"_

_ "On the islands."_

_ "C'mon! Let's go get her!" Sora tugged on Riku's arm. Riku reluctantly followed._

_ "Wait… What about the Organization?"_

_Two adventures simplified._

_ Wow, life would have been so much easier with these before._

**Back in Reality**

Sora started mashing random buttons on his phone. It made a beeping noise, and he stopped. "Mickey, what's a text message?" He said, looking at the screen.

Roxas's phone began to play "The Other Promise". He hit the "Ok" button, and a message showed up. It read FADFASFBABAdvafjbiajps jjrtjrowavkbnt.

From Sora. Roxas rolled his eyes and tapped away on his keyboard. Namine's phone began to play "Hikari". She slid it open, and blushed.

"The instruction manual will explain everything." Mickey handed Kairi a small, red pocket-sized book. She opened it and read it with incredible speed. She then assisted everyone with texting and making calls.

"Apparently, The King sprung for the Universal Plan, so we have unlimited talk, data and text in every single world." Mickey smiled as Kairi said that.

"No, Sora, it's not edible." Sora frowned and pulled his phone out of his mouth.

"There you go, Namine, you've got it." Namine smiled as Kairi patted her shoulder.

"Roxas! Put Oblivion away! I'll fix it." Roxas was about to chop his Mp3 player in half. A half hour later, Kairi was exhausted.

"Now, as you can tell, your Mp3 players are preloaded with songs, and you all have each other as contacts preloaded already." As The King was speaking, a host of brooms came in, carrying heaping trays of food. "It appears that the food is ready. I would like to thank Namine and Kairi for their assistance." The girls both gave a slight nod.

The brooms carried in plates and plates of food. Steak, salads, everything. Sora, Riku, and Roxas unfolded their napkins to get forks. Small chains fell out. They picked them up. _Keychains. _They all thought. The three boys summoned their Keyblades and startled everyone. Sora detached his Kingdom Key chain and attached the new one. The keychain looked like a stone surrounded in a tornado. He looked at his Keyblade, and saw that he was actually holding it wrong. He flipped it around and admired it. It had a wide guard, although it was to one side. It was a deep green, and it had large, mechanical teeth as the strike zone.

"I found these keychains a long time ago. I thought you three might like them." Mickey said as Sora stared at his new Keyblade.

"I don't know why, but I wanna call this Keyblade Fresh Breeze." Sora swung it around and almost knocked a large roast chicken off the table.

"When you first get a Keyblade, true masters will know its name." Mickey said.

Roxas attached his keychain to Oblivion. It was shaped like a stick of Sea-Salt Ice Cream. His Keyblade transformed into a beautiful, articulate replica of the Clock Tower in Twilight Town. Part of tower was taken out. The handle was there, shaped to look like ice cream sticks glued together. The strike zone was three sticks of Sea-Salt Ice Cream of varying lengths. "Sweet and Salty, just like the ice cream."

Riku attached his. It was a white version of Sora's crown necklace. Way To The Dawn was enveloped in a white light. An inverted Oblivion was there before him. Instead of the black-wing guard, they were replaced with white, angelic wings. The purple, diamond-like gem turned into a circular, yellow pearl. The shaft was pure white, with the chain of Oblivion lining it. The strike zone was a loose variation of the Kanji for heart.

"Reincarnation." Riku muttered.

"Well, let's get eating!" Minnie said almost too cheerily. The boys put their Keyblades away and sat down.

Sora and Roxas devoured a whole turkey, a bowl of salad, five liters of Kingdom Cola, an entire bowl of mashed potatoes, and twenty dinner rolls together. Kairi barely ate anything. She had been snacking on food in the kitchen before dinner. Namine ate as much as she could. She had never had this much good food in her life. Riku ate a slice of turkey, a bit of salad, and some mashed potatoes. He was going to keep a good reputation as long as he could.

After everyone was done eating, the brooms brought in desert. "Paopu cake." One of them announced.

Kairi then added; "Don't worry, we brought a single paopu for everyone from the islands." Kairi winked at Namine.

Roxas took a bite of his cake without even thinking. Namine smiled as he did. She quickly took a bite of hers. Sora saw more food placed in front of him, and just devoured it. Riku poked it around his plate with his fork, and eventually took a bite. Kairi nibbled on the edges of hers. Lea made sure his was "extra crispy" before he took a bite.

After everybody had finished eating, Mickey decided to strike up a conversation with Sora. They began talking about Heartless. Sora told him about being overpowered by 10 Shadows in The World That Never Was. Mickey laughed, and they shared stories for hours while everybody else was talking. Mickey turned around and looked at the large grandfather clock behind him. It was nearing midnight.

"Alright, I think it's time for bed." Mickey said has he stood up. Everybody thanked The King and Queen and went to their rooms. "Breakfast is at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Good night!"

Sora, Lea, Kairi, Namine, Roxas and Riku turned left down the hall. They arrived at the guest rooms, and went their separate ways. Roxas pulled Sora over.

He whispered; "Hey, I'm switching rooms with Kairi. Namine asked her at dinner and she said ok." Sora's heart skipped a beat. _He… was sharing a room… with Kairi? Score! _Sora tried to hide his content. Roxas winked as he left for his new room.

Sora stepped into his room to find Kairi crawling into bed. He was thankful that he didn't see her, because something… might have happened. He shook his head and stepped into the bathroom. Kairi didn't see him come in. She grabbed a book and began to read.

He placed his phone on the counter. Sora grabbed a pair of flannel pants with crowns all over them and put them on. He threw a white t-shirt over his head and went out the door. As he went, his phone started to play "Darkness of the Unknown". He picked it up, and pushed the 'enter' button. A map showed up on screen. _Apparently, this thing had a GPS too. _He noticed that it led out of his room to a large square, about 500 feet from his location. There was a text message attached.

"Code is 3582. Take swimming trunks. And Kairi. Have fun!" The message was stamped with a crown, meaning it was from the King. _How did Mickey know he was with Kairi?_

Sora stepped out of the bathroom, surprising Kairi. "Sora? I thought I was sharing a room with Namine!"

"Roxas and Namine tricked us. Roxas told me that you agreed to switch rooms with him." Sora sighed. "Wait… what are they doing then?" Sora held his ear to the wall and cringed. "Ugh." He shook his head.

Kairi sighed as well. "Well, what can we do now."

"We could go swimming. The King just sent me a map to the pool, I think."

Kairi perked up. "Okay!" She hopped out of bed and Sora immediately turned around. He scurried into the bathroom and pulled a pair of shorts on. He also put on a black t-shirt that was a little small.

"Ready to go?" Sora asked her as he turned around. _Oh my G… _he thought as he turned around. Kairi was wearing a pink bikini, and Sora had trouble holding back. Kairi was the most beautiful girl he knew. Sora wanted to just stare at his girlfriend in all her beauty all day, but he knew what would happen if he did. He had to do something to suppress those urges. "I'll race you to the pool!" He exclaimed.

"You're on!" Kairi sped past him out the door. Sora ran after her as fast as he could. Kairi had gotten a lot faster. Sora was never going to catch up to her at this rate. He tried to go into valor form for quick run, but realized that he was not wearing his regular clothes. All he could do was run. He jumped into the air, and glided to catch up. Eventually, they tied at the gates to the pool. Sora punched in the code and they went in.

The pool was huge. It had an abstract shape to it, and was full of crystal-clear water. Elegant chairs lined half of the poolside. The pool was warm. Sora took his shirt off, which attracted Kairi's attention. She stared at his chest and muscles for longing moments, until Sora jumped into the pool. He jumped in simply so that he could actually look at Kairi without her seeing what she made his body do.. _She is so beautiful…stupid hormones! _He snapped back into reality as she slipped into the pool. The depths of the floor created seats in the water. Sora sat back on one, and put his hands behind his head. Kairi sat on the edge of the pool, kicking her legs.

"So, why did Namine seem so happy during dessert?" Sora turned back to look at Kairi and got lost in her eyes.

Kairi couldn't stop looking into Sora's eyes. _So blue… just like the water… I can't take my eyes off him. _Kairi shook her head. "Oh, you noticed that, did you?" _For a boy who tries to eat his cell phone, he sure catches on to some things pretty quickly. _"Well, Namine 'accidentally'" Kairi put air quotes around accidentally, "used the same paopu for her and Roxas' desserts."

Sora's mouth was agape. "You… didn't do that with us… did you?"

"No, of course not! I wouldn't sneak you something like that." She smiled. "I want ours to be more special than that."

"Well, I'm glad." Sora got up and went underwater to the deep end of the pool.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Kairi followed after him. Both of them had gotten used to having their eyes open underwater, from living on the islands. Kairi followed Sora all around the pool. They met in the middle of the pool, and Sora took her in his arms. He moved in and brushed her lips with his. Sora looked into her eyes, which said; _Kiss me for real. _

Sora moved in closer, as did Kairi. They met at the exact center of the pool. They held together for simple moments, as the euphoria of each other took their breath away. They had to resurface, but they held together until they did.

Sora took a deep breath. They had been underwater for quite some time. Of course, Sora had experience with breathing underwater from Atlantica, but Kairi had no such experience. Her breathing was labored, mostly because she was breathless from the kiss.

Sora took Kairi in his arms and carried her out of the pool. Kairi was shivering. The water was drastically warmer than the air outside. Sora could not find a towel anywhere, so he used _fira _to place a small fireball on the table next to her. Sora used the heat to dry off, turning and lifting up his arms or moving to get closer to the fireball. Kairi relished every moment of this, seeing nearly every crevice of his well-toned body.

Luckily, she had been breathing deeply before he started drying off, so Sora could not tell that he was making her breathless still.

After the best moments of Kairi's life, Sora threw his shirt back on. He checked his watch. "Three A.M? How?" as he said this, he heard footsteps. A guard was doing his nightly rounds. "Hide!" He whispered to Kairi. She hid behind a large rock. Sora readied himself at the gate. Just as the guard tapped in the code, Sora summoned his Keyblade and whispered; "_Stop!" _ The guard was frozen. He beckoned for Kairi to follow him. They ran all the way back to their room, avoiding every single guard.

As Sora and Kairi burst into their room, they burst out laughing. Sora propped himself up on the wall, and Kairi just fell to the floor. Sora darted into the bathroom to get changed. He threw on the flannel, crown-adorned black pants and left the black shirt he wore to the pool on. He stepped out of the room to see Kairi back in her nightgown, listening at the wall.

"Whatever Roxas and Namine were up to, they're done now." She said as she pulled her ear away from the wall. She slipped into her bed and whispered "Good night." with a smile on her face. Kairi rolled over and tried to fall asleep.

Sora crashed onto his bed. He wasn't tired yet, so he put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. The King's personal symbol adorned the ceiling, and by the time he was halfway done counting them, he almost nodded off to sleep. "He whispered "Good night." back to Kairi, and closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, Kairi rolled over. "Sora?" she said, sounding like a child calling her mother in the middle of the night.

Sora fell asleep just as she said his name. He snapped back to life in an instant. "What is it?"

Kairi peeled the comforter off of the bed. "I'm cold. Can you come and sleep with me?"

Sora, still half asleep, crawled out of bed while nodding. Kairi moved over, to give him some room. Apparently, Sora's hormones were still asleep, because he wasn't having any particular thoughts about what he was doing. He slipped under the sheets and wrapped his arms around Kairi.

"Much better." She said with a smile as she fell asleep.

**Okay, I'm kinda stuck. I need some help for the next chapter. If you have any ideas, leave them in a review. No Original Characters, but characters from Final Fantasy or Disney that haven't been introduced in KH at all are ok (Ex. Rinoa, Clarabelle Cow).Remember to Review!**


	8. It looks like my summer vacation is over

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or Square Enix, or Final Fantasy, or Disney, nor do I own any of the characters in this fanfic. Or the song that I used the name of.

Chapter 8 It looks like my summer vacation is…over.

_Darkness. Complete and utter darkness. He opened his eyes to it. Creatures he had never seen before began attacking him. Small blue creatures that resembled Heartless. He attempted to summon his Keyblade, and ended up with the stick that he used long ago. An attempt to fight them off with the simple stick was in vain. Another boy appeared. He saw… Himself? The boy was carrying the Keyblade that the King had given to Sora. The boy began running to him and slashed at the creatures until they dissipated into what appeared to be water. Another round of the same blue creatures appeared, but with them, a masked being. The boy turned around and pointed his Keyblade at him. The masked man summoned an odd, mechanical Keyblade. He pointed it towards the other boy and the blue creatures began attacking him. The boy hit a small piece of armor on his shoulder, and the armor began to spread, until it covered his whole body. One fluid motion of his Keyblade destroyed the blue creatures, and the masked man began to run towards him. The darkness below them dissipated. They were on an awakening station, which seemed to display the two who were currently fighting. Thousands of blows were exchanged between the two. As they were fighting, Voices ran through his head. "V….us…V..n…as…Castle Oblivion…"_ Roxas woke up and shook his head. He closed his eyes and thought of the girl next to him.

Sora woke up, oblivious to what he had done minutes before falling asleep. He was awake, but had not opened his eyes. He knew he was holding onto something, but he assumed it was a pillow, and that he was back in his own bed. He moved his hand up on the "pillow" and touched something he really shouldn't have touched. _Oh, crap. This is __**not **__a pillow. _He opened his eyes to find his view blocked by auburn-colored hair. _I'm so screwed. _He let go of what he was holding, and it rolled over on the bed.

Kairi rolled over, and opened her eyes to find Sora with a look of shock on his face. "Good morning, Sora. What's wrong?"

Sora shook his head, automatically re-spiking his flattened hair. Kairi giggled a little. She always loved it when he did that. "Nothing at all. Did we…"

Kairi shook her head. "Of course not. We're sixteen. Don't you remember? I asked you to come and sleep with me, because I was cold." _I can't believe that actually worked._ She thought as she grinned.

Sora sat up. "What time is it?"

Kairi rolled over to look at the clock. "Umm, 10:25. Why?"

Sora's eyes went wide. "Breakfast is in 5 minutes."

At that, they both jumped out of bed and pulled on clothes. Sora threw on what he wore every day, and Kairi put on her favorite pink dress. They both grabbed their cell phones and ran out the door.

As they were running down the main hall, both of their cell phones began to ring. They pulled them out of their pockets ad checked the time. 2 minutes until breakfast. Namine had texted Kairi, and Riku had texted Sora. Kairi read; _Kairi! Where r u? brkfst in 2! _She quickly responded, saying _B rite there. _She closed her phone and kept running. Sora read; _Dude wake up! _Sora began to respond, but ran into a wall and knocked a torch on its side.

The wall opened up to reveal a set of stairs. Sora rubbed his head and stood up. Sora and Kairi had one minute to get to the dining hall. They decided to take a shot. They ran up the stairs, and found a large panel. Sora shifted it to the side, and they found themselves in the dining room. They took their seats just as the brooms began bringing out plates.

Riku leaned in and whispered, "Close call." into Sora's ear. Sora elbowed his side and sat up. He immediately dove into a large plate of bacon and eggs and had soon stuffed his face.

Breakfast went off without a hitch, with everyone leaving full and happy. Everyone returned to his or her rooms, with the exception of Roxas, who stayed behind to talk to the King.

"Excuse me, Your Highness. I want to talk to you about something." Roxas seemed tense and nervous.

"Of, course, Roxas, what is it?" Mickey was concerned. Roxas was _never _nervous.

"I want to talk to you… about Sora." Roxas knew whatever it was, it couldn't be good. "I've been feeling… a presence. Inside both Sora and me. It feels similar, but at the same time, different. Kinda like two sides of the same coin. Light, with darkness." Roxas mumbled the last sentence out.

"…That's almost exactly what Sora was talking about. But he _saw _the presence in his dream. It was a girl with black hair. But it sounds like you're describing two separate people from this girl. Can you think of anything about these people?" Mickey was really worried right now. Three presences inside a person and his Nobody was too much.

"I heard their names. They both start with a V, and two letters separate the names. And… they look familiar." Roxas saw the worried expression on the King's face and became even more confused.

There was a long silence. Mickey eventually broke it. "And that's all you know?"

Roxas scratched the back of his head. "Umm, sorry, Your Highness. That's all I know. Is there anything we can do?"

Mickey thought for a moment, and said "Go to Radiant Garden. Find Merlin, and ask him about this. He will show you the way. If he cannot help you, you will find yourself in your homeworld, Roxas. Not Sora's, yours. Recall where you were born. Sora has taken a train from there. Ask him about it, and take the train he mentions. You and your friends should know it as the "ghost train". It will lead you to a friend of mine."

"Thank you." Roxas said as he ran out to catch up with Sora and the others.

Mickey stopped him "Oh, and Roxas?"

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"First of all, I hate being called Your Highness. Call me Mickey. Secondly, talk to Sora about that dream of yours. You may be the key to solving his problem, and vice versa."

"Of course… Mickey." Roxas smiled and left. He had no intention of talking to Sora.

Roxas caught up to Sora. "Roxas, where've you been?" He asked, turning his head to face Roxas.

"Nowhere, I just got lost." Roxas was lying through his teeth, and he hated it. _How can I lie to my Somebody so easily? _

The six made their way back to their rooms. Everybody began gathering their stuff and packing it up. While Kairi was in the bathroom, Sora recalled the last time he had contact with the King.

_He and Riku were sitting on the paopu tree, talking about how nothing has changed. Kairi came running up the bridge all of a sudden, carrying a letter in a bottle. It was obviously from the King, because it was adorned with his symbol. He opened it up, and Kairi and Riku looked over his shoulder to read it with him. _

_ He couldn't remember exactly what it said, but he knew that it said that there were people connected to him, and he had to set them free. _

_ Sora remembered leaving the islands, for at least a month, He came back, after traveling all the worlds, empty-handed. Nobody knew anything, not even Yen Sid or Merlin. However, there was one world that eluded him. He had no idea where to find Castle Oblivion. He had thought that it would be the key, considering that he found nothing anywhere else. He eventually gave up searching and returned home. Kairi and Riku were pretty bummed when he came back without anything. _

Sora finished packing as Kairi came out of the bathroom carrying a small bag. "All ready?" She smiled at him and placed the bag at the door. "Sora, could you grab my other bag? It's by the window."

"Yeah, sure." He grabbed her bag (Which was surprisingly heavy for its size) and carried it with his bag. He dropped them by the door.

"Thank you." She said as she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

Sora could feel his face burning up as he stuttered out, "No problem."

The two left for the library. Mickey had closed it to let his guests have a private conversation. They needed to decide where to go next. The library was empty. And dark. Sora flicked the lights on when they got in.

"So, do we have any ideas as for what to do?" Riku wanted to get this conversation moving and get out of here.

"I do!" Sora and Roxas said simultaneously.

"One at a time, boys!" Namine laughed. "Roxas, go first."

"I think we should definitely go to Radiant Garden." Roxas decided to follow Mickey's plan.

Lea was unsure. "Why Radiant Garden? Don't you think it would be better to go to Twilight Town?"

"That's what I was gonna say!" Sora was mad that somebody took his idea.

"Anyway… I think we should be going there to see Merlin. Who would be better to ask about this?" Roxas was sure that that they should go there. Why would he doubt Mickey?

Lea shook his head. "I still think it's a bad idea." _I can't go back to Radiant Garden! What if I ran into her? _

Kairi stood up. "Ok, so we have two options. Let's take a vote. Radiant Garden?"

Namine, Roxas and Riku raised their hands. "Twilight Town?" Sora, herself, and Lea raised their hands.

"Ok, so we have a tie. We're gonna need a tiebreaker." Roxas propped his head up on his hands.

"I'll go get Mickey!" Roxas looked up when Sora said that. Sora ran out the door.

Lea got up and followed. "I'll go with him."

The chamber was just down the hall. Mickey, Donald and Goofy were talking about something when they walked in.

"Mickey, could we borrow you for a second? We can't decide where to go." Sora was hoping and praying that Mickey would say to go to Twilight Town.

"Sure, I'll come along. Donald, Goofy, why don't you come too?" Mickey remembered what he told Roxas.

Donald and Goofy followed Sora to the library. Lea pulled the King to the side.

"Mickey, there's something you should know."

"Yes, what is it?" Mickey was concerned as to what Lea wanted to tell him.

"Don't trust Isa."

"W-Why? Isa's been a good consort since he got here."

"He may have his heart back now, and he may seem good, but he is eternally loyal to Xemnas and the name of the Organization. Just be careful in what you tell him, he may be passing it on to Xehanort. One day, you may wake up with the entire Organization at the foot of your bed. Just be careful, your Highness." Lea had a stern look on his face.

Mickey nodded. The two continued back to the library. Donald had conjured three extra chairs, and he, Goofy, and Mickey took their seats.

"Alright, so where are you trying to decide between?" Mickey wanted to get this over with. He had preparations to make after Sora and his friends left.

"We're tied between Radiant Garden and Twilight Town." Riku sighed.

"I'm gonna go with Radiant Garden." Roxas smiled as Donald sided with him.

"Gawrsh, sorry Donald, but I'm gonna have to go against you. Twilight Town is my choice." Sora breathed a sigh of relief as the vote was re-tied.

"You're going to Radiant Garden, guys. That's my vote." Mickey stood up to leave. "I've got things I need to do." He left, closing the door behind him.

Sora was downtrodden, but got over it rather fast. At that point, everyone left to finish packing. Within half an hour, everyone was finished, and all the bags were packed into the Gummi Ship. Chip had made some modifications to the Gummi Ship, to make sure that it wouldn't fall apart. Dale had loaded a mini-fridge and small kitchen into the back. "Just in case you guys get stranded." He had said.

Donald and Goofy were there to see them off. Sora remembered to ask them along, but they refused. "Well, gawrsh, Sora. I have a son that I need to take care of." Goofy hung his head.

"I just took on three apprentices. I can't leave them in the middle of training." Donald stepped back with Goofy, to avoid the discharge of energy that came when the ship would take off.

"Well, I've gotta go. It's almost time to feed Max." Goofy turned around and left. Donald followed him, muttering something about setting up for training.

"Goodbye…" Sora began to tear up.

The last of the bags were loaded into the Gummi Ship. Riku hopped into the cockpit and grabbed the wheel. "Everybody in?" He turned around to see four of the other seven seats occupied. He looked to the seat next to him. No Sora… "Where's Sora?"

Kairi peered through the porthole in the door separating the cockpit from the cargo bay. "He's sitting in the luggage, sulking. I'll go talk to him." Kairi unstrapped herself from the chair and opened the door to the cargo bay.

Sora was sitting in the luggage, looking at a picture from a year ago. He, Donald, and Goofy were posing in front of the Old Mansion in Twilight Town. Olette had taken the picture, and Sora had held onto it ever since. There were a few teardrops on the photograph, which were sliding around because of Sora's shaky hold on the picture.

Kairi tiptoed into the bay, and closed the door silently. She could hear Sora's labored breathing, and assumed that he was crying. Who knew that the great hero of the Worlds could be so insecure? Kairi nearly tripped over her own bag while traversing the way to where Sora was. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and before she knew it, she heard the clang of metal. Sora's Kingdom Key was pointed at her.

"No, Sora. It's me." Kairi knelt down beside him and wrapped herself around him, placing her head on his shoulder. She heard the clang of metal again, and the Key was gone.

"They… said no… and just left. Without even saying goodb-" Sora abruptly stopped speaking as Kairi pressed her finger to his lips.

"Don't say anything. Sometimes… words just aren't good enough." Kairi smiled as a tear, her own, rolled down her cheek.

_It was just over a year ago, when she remembered Sora for the first time. She had met that boy, who she now knows as Roxas, "Starts with an S…" That phrase was still fresh in her mind. She got home from school that day, ran up to her room, and crashed onto her bed, tears falling like water from a tap. She couldn't get the boy out of her head. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had known this boy forever, and that he was her closest friend, He was funny, lazy, and best of all, completely oblivious to what was going on around him. But she could only remember Riku! She could remember the boy's face. Deep, blue eyes, an adorable smile, and the spikiest hair she had ever seen. She could remember the face, the person, but not the name! The one thing that she remembered the most was her feelings toward him. He was almost like a brother to her. The more she thought about him, the more she cried. The absolute most important thing, what was killing her inside, was that she loved him. She wanted to be with him forever, and never, ever leave his side. She fell asleep, her head resting on the tear-drenched pillow._

_ The next day, she and Selphie were at the pier, right where they always docked their boats. They were watching the seagulls fly around in the air. Kairi was kicking her feet around in the water, while Selphie was leaned back, resting her head on the wood of the pier. _

_ "Hey, Kairi, have you ever wished you could just fly around like the seagulls, without a care in the world? Imagine, just soaring through the air." Selphie was fixated on one seagull, which had a stripe on its wings._

_ Soar. That was it. Rearrange the last two letters and- Sora. Kairi shot up from the dock, whispering the name to herself, careful that she wouldn't forget it again. She ran off, leaving behind a very confused Selphie. _

_ Kairi reached her house, bolted up to her room with tears of joy streaming from her eyes. She sat down at her desk, pulled out a pen and paper, and began to write._

Kairi returned to reality. "Sora, I know what you're feeling. I remember when I was stuck on the islands, while you and Riku were out there, searching for me. I felt so helpless, so useless, and so powerless. I know you feel that way without Donald and Goofy. Sora, you're never alone. There are four people besides us in this Gummi ship. Why? Because they care about you. They want you to be ok."

"Why didn't Donald and Goofy come? I wanted them with us." Sora looked up from his picture, with the saddest look on his face.

"I don't know. But, what I do know is, that if we get into danger, they'll be there in an instant." All Kairi could do was smile at him.

"You're right."

Those were Kairi's two favorite words to hear. "Now, can you get yourself together so you can pilot the ship? We kinda have a schedule."

Sora smiled. _Same old Kairi. _He got up, and walked out of the cargo bay and took the pilot's seat. Kairi strapped herself back into her chair.

Namine whispered into Kairi's ear. "That was fast. What did you say?"

"Nothing really, I just let him talk himself out of it." Kairi took her Mp3 player out and put an earbud into her right ear. She clicked play, and "Simple and Clean" began to play. Namine took the other earbud, and did the same.

Sora ignited the engine. The gummi ship levitated into the air, and Queen Minnie began waving from the ground. Mickey was up in his study, watching from the window. "Good luck." Mickey went back to his desk. He sat down at it and picked up a pencil. He began to draw a key.

Isa was looking out from the library window. He looked to the sky and saw the ship take off. He grabbed his right shoulder. He had a feeling Lea was on to him. Knowing Lea, Isa assumed that he had told Mickey of his suspicions and that he shouldn't trust him. That would be a slight setback. However, Isa did have a way with words… And Claymores. Of course, the latter was the last resort, only for if there was an issue with "interrogating" the king. He simply had to find a way to get the rest of them in. He had heard there were two doors, connecting this world with another. He would have to find it. The Master and the winged swordsman were depending on him. He closed the blinds on the window and headed for the audience hall. Operation Ethereal Blade was in effect.

Sora piloted the gummi ship expertly, and as soon as they broke free of the world barrier, Sora turned on the Warp-G and autopilot. Radiant Garden was a short trip away. Sora peered out the window, thinking about Donald and Goofy. He saw a small speck out of the corner of his eye. It looked like one of those heartless ships from an old gummi route. He shrugged it off and kept flying.


	9. We might not be able to come back

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or Square Enix, or Final Fantasy, or Disney, nor do I own any of the characters in this fanfic.

Chapter 9: Once we step through, we might not be able to come back.

Thanks to the Warp-G, traveling was easy enough. The trip to Radiant Garden was a matter of seconds, and soon enough they had broken the world barrier, and were cruising into land at the Great Maw. The ship landed squarely at the edge of one of the cliffs overlooking the space that thousands of Heartless had occupied a year before. Two figures could be seen, sparring in the canyon.

Sora stepped out of the Gummi ship, jumped off the cliff, and after landing, ran over to the figures, shouting "Cloud! Leon!" When he was ignored (most likely because they were too into their sparring) by the two, he summoned his Keyblade and held it between the two men. The two swords were stopped immediately. Without the blur of motion, it was easy to tell that the two blades were the Gunblade, Revolver, and the Buster Sword, First Tsurugi.

Cloud and Leon felt the impact of their weapons on the invincible steel of the Keyblade. A surge of pressure built up in their arms, as they were still applying pressure to their weapons. The pressure was released, and the weapons fell to their owner's sides.

Riku watched from the edge of the cliff, smirking as Sora talked to his old friends. _Was there anyone who he didn't know? _Riku overlooked the canyon, and his eyes were drawn to Hollow Bastion. It looked extremely different, probably a reflection of what it looked like before his own intervention. The large insignia of the Heartless was completely missing. It was quite a pleasant surprise. His mind momentarily flashed back to his time in darkness, until someone called his name.

"Riku! Come down here!" Sora waved at him to come down.

Riku slid down the side of the canyon. It was at about a 60 degree angle, so the slide was quick. His fingertips grazed the rocky surface of the cliff, slowing his descent a little. Upon reaching the bottom, he ran over to Sora and the two men. "What is it?"

"There's some people I want you to meet. This is Cloud and Leon." Sora stepped to the side.

"So you're Riku? It was only a year ago that Sora was searching for you frantically, like he did with those 99 puppies." Leon laughed to himself and extended his left hand, because his right was holding Revolver. "Nice to meet you."

Riku shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you too."

Cloud stepped forward, and spoke in his usual angst-filled tone. "You lived with Sora on the islands, right? Do you have a Keyblade, or do you just follow him around, letting him fight your battles?"

Riku summoned Way to the Dawn. "Yes, I have a Keyblade, and I fight for myself." Something about this guy rubbed him the wrong way.

"Impressive. Let's see how well you fight with it." Cloud readied First Tsurugi and audibly muttered "A shiny toy doesn't make the owner any more powerful."

"You're on." Riku got into his usual battle stance. Sora and Leon backed away, and stood at the cliff's edge.

Cloud took the first strike, a simple horizontal slash, taking Riku by surprise. _How can he use that sword so easily? It must weigh at least a hundred pounds. _Riku struck back, forcing the tip of his blade towards Cloud. Cloud parried left, and took a full swing with his buster sword, sending Riku flying backwards. He performed an aerial recovery and came back running. Just as he was about to run into Cloud, he rolled to the right and swept Cloud's legs out. Cloud fell to the ground, and rolled away from Riku. He got up, and jumped into the air. Riku followed him, gliding towards his foe. Cloud let out a flurry of attacks, striking from every possible angle. Riku miraculously dodged every blow, and allowed himself a smile. Cloud sensed the opening, and moved First Tsurugi in an uppercut, sending Riku flying up. Cloud descended to the ground and readied Omnislash.

First Tsurugi glowed, bathed in a bright light. Riku saw it, and began his descent. He positioned Way to the Dawn in a way that would stop whatever Cloud was planning. Just as Cloud began to swing First Tsurugi forward, Way to the Dawn made contact. Cloud shifted their blades, making them vertical to the ground. The bandages began to fall off of First Tsurugi, pooling on the ground.

During the stalemate, Riku said, "I can sense… a darkness in you. A long, lingering darkness. It's never gonna go away, you know. You can't let it go, no matter how much you try… can you?"

Cloud took the words to heart. "Shut up!" The last of the bandages fell off of his sword. He pushed Riku back and released Omnislash. Cloud became a blue blur. Swords struck at him from everywhere, and he could have sworn he saw First Tsurugi separate into several other swords. Riku instinctively blocked every move Cloud made, rendering his most powerful attack useless. "How…?" Omnislash was supposed to be unbeatable!

Cloud swung First Tsurugi forwards. Riku blocked it, and they returned to the stalemate. "You're not pure light either. Darkness leaves a trace. There is, or once was, a dormant darkness in you. Don't deny it."

Riku attempted to push him back. "Nobody's pure light, not even the princesses. You see, the key is-" Riku shifted his grip on his Keyblade, and held it with one hand. His other began glowing, Riku focusing the darkness into his left hand. He raised it up, pointing it at Cloud "-Finding the way to balance light and darkness. Why do you think my Keyblade is called Way to the Dawn?" Riku forced the darkness out, purging his body of every bit of it. Riku controlled it, sending it towards Cloud, who broke their stalemate, parrying the Dark Aura.

The purge was effective, leaving Riku full of light. The only thing left for him to do was unleash his limit break. He muttered, "You can't stop me!" as his Keyblade began to glow a bright white. It soon became a blade of pure light. Riku's moves were too fast for Cloud to block. Every slash, every stab, was unstoppable. Cloud gave up on fighting back, and began to think. _Who is this kid? He's far more powerful than anyone I've ever seen, even Sephiroth, and even Sora._

Cloud fell to his knees, eventually onto his back, and Riku pointed his Keyblade at him. "Giving up already? I thought you were stronger than that."

"I…Give up…" Cloud began to lose consciousness. Just as his eyes closed, they jerked back open. "What?"

Riku's Keyblade was still pointed at Cloud. He had cast Curaga on him. When the cure was finished, Riku turned around and walked away. Cloud got up, picked up First Tsurugi, and walked in the opposite direction, heading back to the city.

"What was that all about?" Sora and Leon had sat down, and watched the entire battle.

"Just…clarifying something." Riku smirked and sat down.

"I've never seen anyone beat Cloud that easily. Not even Sora." Leon was awestruck. "How did you get that powerful?"

"Long story…" Riku shook it off. He realized that Cloud had hit him, but just once. There was a small scratch on his right arm, which was spilling a small amount of blood.

"Riku, are you ok? You're bleeding." Sora reached out and put his hand on Riku's shoulder. He cast Cura on Riku.

"Thanks."

"So, what brings you guys here? It's been a whole year." Leon picked Revolver up.

"That's another long story." Sora laughed and rested his head on the ground.

"How many people did you bring? That gummi ship was pretty big for just you two." Leon stood up and straightened himself out.

Sora scratched his forehead. "Umm… we have six in total. Just me, Riku, Kairi, Namine, and Lea."

"Wait. Lea? As in, spiky, red hair, 'Got it memorized?'. That Lea?" Leon straightened up.

"That's the one." Sora could barely get the words out of his mouth before Leon jumped his way up the canyon.

Lea had just emerged from the gummi ship when Leon reached the top of the cliff. "Squall?"

"Lea?"

The two nodded, and went running towards each other. They did some sort of over-elaborate secret handshake, and both stood there, slack-jawed.

"I can't believe it! It's been forever, man. Where've you been?" Leon had a huge smile on his face, the likes of which nobody had seen before.

"Oh, nowhere special. Turned into a Nobody, died as a Nobody, and now I'm here. What about you? How's Rinoa doing?" Lea began to elbow Leon in the side.

"She's coming back soon. She's been gone somewhere for a long time. She's still the same girl, and all mine. She sent me a letter telling me that she'd be back soon, about a year ago. I've been awaiting her arrival ever since." Leon had a lovesick look on his face.

Lea really hated it when Leon had feelings. "Don't tell me you've gone soft!"

Leon cleared his throat and went back to his usual tone and attitude. "Not at all. The others will be happy to see you. Wanna come with me?"

Lea smiled and rolled his sleeves up. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

Leon picked up his Gunblade. "By the way, are you still fighting with those stupid discs?"

Lea scoffed at Leon's comment. "Are you kidding me? I'm not fifteen anymore." He summoned his chakrams in a blaze of flame. "What do you think of these?" The two began walking towards town, laughing.

As they walked away, Leon whispered something in Lea's ear. "You know, Yuffie hasn't forgotten you…" Lea perked up at this comment.

Leon and Lea were soon out of sight. The remaining five piled into the gummi ship, and took off for the town.

On the ship, Kairi began to reminisce about Radiant Garden. _I remember everything now… My grandmother was so nice to me, especially after my parents were gone… Why can't I remember my parents? I remember everyone else. When I would wander off into the marketplace, A girl would be there, selling flowers from her cart. I would go to see her, and she would always give me a white rose. Squall would practice his swordfighting, out in the great maw. Nobody was there to practice with him, but he seemed content nonetheless. I always saw Lea and Isa fooling around outside of the castle. I always thought it was haunted. _

Sora landed the ship just as the sun began to take its leave. They landed in the middle of the marketplace, and stepped out to meet a cold chill of air. The five left on their way to Merlin's house. They passed Scrooge's freezer, which was frozen shut. There was a muffled screaming and loud banging from the inside of the freezer. Sora cast Firaga on the door and laughed as Scrooge McDuck and his three nephews came flying out. Scrooge gave them a tip of the hat, and ran off with his nephews, running to the shop.

He yelled "Take some Sea-Salt Ice Cream! On the house!" as he ran off. Sora pulled out five sticks, and handed them out. They continued walking, eating the ice cream as the went.

Merlin's house was just down the stairs, right next to the Borough. Aerith was just pulling her cart into the area, noticing them, and shouting "Sora!"

Sora ran over, and Aerith embraced him. Riku looked over at Kairi, and saw for only a moment, a look of pure fury in Kairi's eyes. Riku shook it off and wrote it off as a hallucination. Aerith let go of Sora, and Sora took a step back, his face as red as a moogle's pom-pom. Sora escorted Aerith over, introducing her to all of them. As Sora listed off names, Aerith gave each of them a warm smile and a soft "Hello." When Sora got to Kairi, Aerith gasped.

"Kairi? You're the little girl who always came to visit me at my cart! I always gave you a white rose." Aerith smiled and ran over to her cart. Kairi was momentarily confused, She came back, holding a perfect-looking white rose. She handed it to Kairi, who immediately remembered everything the moment she was given the rose.

"Aerith…" Kairi smiled. "Thank you."

"Why don't you five come in? It's getting dark." She beckoned for them to follow into Merlin's house.

They entered Merlin's house, and saw Cid sitting at his computer, chewing on that same stick. "Whatcha bring home this time, Ms. Gainsborough?"

"Sora's back. And he brought some friends. They need to see Merlin." Right after the words escaped Aerith's mouth, Merlin poofed in.

"Did someone call me?" Merlin took his hat off. "Sora, my boy! And who might these youngsters that you brought along be?"

Sora introduced Roxas, Namine, Riku, and Kairi, Merlin jumping at the mention of Kairi's name. Sora continued, while Merlin muttered something about Ansem the Wise. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Just you and me, or is everyone else free to hear?" A loud banging noise came from upstairs, and with a flick of his wand, it was silenced.

"Just you and me."

"Very well then."

"I'll take everyone else on a tour of the town." Aerith offered, but was interrupted by Kairi.

"Aerith, if it's okay with you, I can do that." Aerith nodded, and Kairi took everyone, sans Sora, outside. As they left, Cid looked at his watch, and typed something in on his computer. As the door shut, the city's streetlights turned on.

Roxas took off, muttering something about training in the Great Maw. Namine followed him, leaving just Riku and Kairi.

"So, you still want the tour? Or are you just gonna go train with Roxas?" Kairi looked a bit depressed.

"Nah, I'll stay with you. Wouldn't want to leave a pretty girl alone in a place like this…" Riku trailed off as he began to walk away, leaving Kairi's jaw hanging wide open. _Did he just... hit on me? Nah, of course not. _Kairi ran to catch up.

Kairi took him all around the city, giving him all of the details about every building and district. They passed through the marketplace, and all the stores had been

re-manned. Hewey, Dewey, and Louie were the shopkeepers. Scrooge McDuck had returned to his freezer, selling Sea-Salt ice cream for 10 munny a stick. Riku bought two sticks and offered one to Kairi. She took it, and they continued walking. They walked over and sat down on a bench.

"Hey, thanks. That was pretty interesting." Riku took a bite out of his ice cream.

"No problem. I think that was the entirety of the city. Can you think of anything else you want to see?" Kairi had barely started her ice cream.

"Nah, that was pretty thorough. Although, there is something I want to show you." Riku kicked back and sighed out of content.

"What? I've shown you all of Radiant Garden, save for the- oh." Kairi realized what he was talking about.

Riku led her up to Hollow Bastion. Kairi whispered something about ghosts as Riku took her through the door. He led her up the winding staircases, and all around the castle, showing her every bit and piece.

Riku finished the "tour" quickly, realizing that Kairi was scared. Riku hit a secret panel, near the entrance, and took her through the passageway that opened up. It was long and winding, and after a while became vertical. When they reached the exit, they found themselves in Villain's Vale.

"This is… so spooky. It's easy to imagine what kind of evil went on up here. But the view is beautiful!" Kairi poked her head out of the window. Twilight covered the world like a blanket, and gave the world an orangeish tinge.

Kairi began to look around. "Hey, what's this?" Kairi picked up a small book and flipped it open. "It's a… journal. I'll read the last entry." She flipped open to the last pages.

_"It seems our plan has failed. There are no known Emblem Heartless left, and the Purebloods are no longer under our control. We have failed ultimately. We must find Xehanort, and fast. He must be behind all of this." _As Kairi read, Riku summoned his Keyblade and surveyed around the tower. He did a double take when Kairi read "Xehanort".

"Xehanort? You've gotta be kidding me! He's long gone." Even the mention of the name brought Riku to a rage. His Keyblade began to glow white, and his body became bathed in a purple and black aura. At that point, a silver door appeared in the room, unbeknownst to them. Riku forced the aura out of his left hand, sending it out a window and spooking a raven that was roosting on top of the tower. The raven descended to the windowpane, and watched Kairi and Riku fervently. They talked a little bit more, still oblivious to both the raven and the door. Minutes later, they left, taking the journal with them. The silver door disappeared when they left. The raven flew off, and soon disappeared into a corridor of darkness.

Kairi and Riku descended to the Great Maw, through the Crystal Fissure, and made their way to the Dark Depths that overlooked Villain's Vale. Riku leaned back, and lay down on the ground. Kairi sat right at the edge, dangling her legs over the cliff. The area was perfectly dark, save for the town behind them, where the dim glow of streetlights could be seen. Kairi had finished her ice cream, and was chewing on the stick. She was still wondering what Riku meant when she began showing him around.

"Hey, Riku. I've got something to ask you." Kairi placed the chewed-up stick on the ground and whispered "_fire." _Sora had taught her some basic magic. She watched as the stick burned into ashes and disappeared.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Before I took you on the tour, you said something about 'not leaving a pretty girl alone.' Were you… hitting on me?" Kairi just had to ask.

Riku laughed. "Of course not. That was just a joke. Don't you remember the last time you were left alone? You got kidnapped by Axel."

"Good point."

Riku realized what Kairi meant. "Oh, no. Not in that way. I do love you, Kairi, but not in the way Sora does. You're more like a sister to me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Kairi leaned back and put her hands behind her head. She moved a little closer to Riku. They both looked up at the sky, knowing that all of those stars were worlds.

Their peace was broken minutes later, with a shrill scream of "Roxas! How could you?" Riku and Kairi both got up and ran towards the Great Maw.

They got to the source of the scream, in time to see a Corridor of Darkness close. Roxas was standing there, with Yuffie right next to him. Kairi greeted her with a hug, and began casually chatting with her. Riku assumed they knew each other from childhood.

"What just happened, Yuffie?" Kairi broke the hug and stepped back.

"I don't know. I was just greeting Sora, and I hugged him. Then this crazy girl in a white dress came in, and freaked out, and called Sora Roxas." Yuffie appeared oblivious to the magnitude of the situation.

Kairi shook her head. "That's not Sora. That's Roxas. And that girl who freaked out, that was his girlfriend."

Yuffie finally got it. "OhmygoshwhatdidIjustdo?" She began freaking out, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Roxas was pissed. "What the heck was that about?"

Riku shrugged. "I don't know, what happened?"

"That crazy girl appeared while I was training, shouted 'Sora!' and ran up to hug me. I tried to stop her, but I couldn't. Namine came in a minute later, and saw that girl hugging me. I don't know what to do." Roxas looked depressed. "Namine… She's my everything."

Kairi received a text from Sora, saying that he was done. Riku and Kairi led a sulking Roxas back to Merlin's house. Roxas tried to fall back into a corridor of darkness multiple times, but Riku held onto his forearm with a tight grip.

After about 20 minutes, they had reached the town and Merlin's house. The three walked in, seeing Cid at his computer, Sora talking with Cloud, Lea, and Leon, and Tifa sitting in the corner, alone.

Kairi spoke up. "Hey, has anyone seen Namine?"

_A man in a black coat was sitting on a large rock, watching the silver waves crash against the slate-gray shore. The beach seemed monochrome, as everything was a shade of gray, save for the sky, which was a dark blue. There were many rocks spread across the shore, bleak as the emotions of a Nobody. How he hated Nobodies. But… there was one that was tolerable. He had met her long ago, and worked with her for a year or so. Occasionally, a girl would show up, and talk to him. Her name had something to do with…water? Was that it? Yes, that sounds correct. He had lost track of how long he had been sitting there, watching the tide come in and go out. If he had to guess, it would have been for about a year. But, in the Realm of Darkness, time never ran straight. _

_He could hear a Corridor of Darkness open. He was tempted to look over and see who it is, but he continued his statuelike gaze out into the sea. Though he could not see, a girl in a white dress emerged from the corridor, and walked over next to him. She sat down on the rock and looked out at the sea._

_"Who are you?"_

_The man chuckled. "Oh, I think you should know who I am, Namine." His deep voice sent chills down her spine._

_"DiZ? …I mean, Ansem. I thought you were dead." Namine brushed some hair out of her face and sniffled._

_"Far from it, my dear. That explosion merely sent me here." Ansem continued his ever-constant gaze. _

_A few tears fell down Namine's cheek. "Sora is well, as are the others. Well, he is, for the most part. She has found her way back."_

_"…You don't mean…"For the first time in over 12 months, Ansem broke the gaze to look down at Namine. "When I first met you, you were a little girl, and not much more. You have grown so much, and have become a young woman."_

_Namine blushed a little. "Anyway, the one who was interfering. You know whom."_

_"Yes, I do. But the name has escaped me." Ansem pulled down his hood._

_"As it has everyone else. Sora needs the name, before anything gets worse."_

_"There is only one place where it could be found. I believe you know where I am talking about." Ansem returned his stare to the waves. "Go there, and find the Academic's log. There will be a chapter on the No. i experiment. Read it."_

_"Thank you."_

_"Is something troubling you, Namine?"_

_"No… Well, yes. Roxas and I have been going out, and I saw him in the arms of another girl. I can't trust him."_

_"You must always assume good faith. I doubt these transgressions were Roxas' fault. Forgive him. Oh, and say hello to Kairi for me."_

_"If you say so…" Namine disappeared into a Corridor of Darkness._

_As Namine left, another girl came walking up behind him. "Who was that?"_

_"Namine, the witch. You know her works."_

_"Yes, I know them well. It was a miracle what she did to Sora's memories." _

_"Do you still have your Master's Keyblade?"_

_The girl summoned a metallic, simple-looking Keyblade. "Yes, I do."_

_"Where is your Keyblade?"_

_"…I don't know."_

_"I believe I may. It may be in the possession of Kairi. However, she has not been Awakened. I just sent Namine with the trigger."_

_"How would a greeting from you be a trigger?" _

_"You wouldn't understand."_

_The girl walked away._

"I don't know, haven't seen her. What happened?" Sora got up to ask. Kairi filled him in. "Oh… that's terrible." Yuffie walked in just as Kairi finished explaining, and then poofed out a second later, freaking out once again.

Riku and Cloud were having a staredown. Aerith walked in, and Cloud seemed to change persona completely. "Oh, hi Aerith." Cloud's voice was shaky.

Aerith kissed Cloud on the cheek. "Hi, sweetie." Cloud blushed, his face turning as red as Lea's hair. She set down the tray of cookies she had just baked, and everyone reached for one.

Lea whispered to Leon. "So Cloud and Aerith finally got together?"

"Yeah, and it's about time." Leon whispered back.

Everyone was munching away on the cookies, save for Riku and Kairi, because they just had some Sea-Salt ice cream, and Aerith, who preferred to leave the cookies for everyone else.

"So, what's the news from Merlin?" Kairi waited for Sora's response, between cookies.

"Nothing. It looks like we would have been better to go to Twilight Town." Sora looked around, noticing that Roxas was missing. "Where's Roxas? And Merlin?"

Upstairs, in Merlin's study, Roxas and Merlin were talking about Roxas' dream.

"I'm sorry, Roxas. Like I told Sora, I can't help you, as much as I would like to. You must go see Yen Sid, he will know what to do, I guarantee it."

Roxas looked sad. "Well, thank you anyway, Merlin." Roxas left Merlin to his thoughts.

After Roxas had left, Merlin picked up the letter from Mickey. He read it over quickly.

_Merlin,_

_ Sora and the gang are comin' to Radiant Garden. Sora and Roxas have been having dreams about a replica and his original persona, respectively. They are going to come to you for help. Don't tell them anything at all. I know you know what they must do, but their hearts will lead them there in due time. Suggest that they go to Twilight Town, and tell them nothing else. _

_ Mickey_

Merlin placed the letter into a locked drawer and began drafting a note to Yen Sid.

Sora had struck up a conversation with Cloud. "So, what happened when you and Sephiroth last year? You kinda just disappeared."

"Me and Sephiroth…split up. We both went somewhere else. I ended up in Midgar, I don't know what happened to Sephiroth." Cloud sounded regretful. "I thought… that this time would be different. Maybe I would defeat him this time."

"This time? Why have you been chasing Sephiroth for so long?" Sora asked.

"He took my friend. This was all that was left." Cloud pulled out two black feathers. "I figured it was Sephiroth. It was a good guess, and proved true." He clenched his hand that held the feathers into a fist. "I will find him. And I will avenge Zack."

Sora turned around to grab another cookie. When he turned back, face stuffed, Cloud was gone. "Wha-Where did he go?"

Aerith put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "He's been doing that a lot lately. Don't think anything of it."

Riku noticed Cloud's absence. He stepped outside to look up at the stars. "Why do I feel like everything we've done up to this point was a mistake?" He muttered to himself. He sat next to the door and summoned Way to the Dawn. He detached the keychain and linked Incarnation on to the loop. A bright glow of light later, the angelic Keyblade was in his hands.

He couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong with the Keyblade. No matter how pure it looked, or how shiny it was, it felt like it was bathed in a dark aura.

At that second, Namine appeared in a corridor of darkness. "Namine? We've been worried sick about y-" Riku tried to finish his sentence, but Namine wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips against his. Riku didn't know what to do, so he kissed her back.

If Roxas had stepped out that instant, he would have killed Riku. However, he was inside, moping. Namine pulled back, and said; "Don't worry about me. I'll meet you in Twilight Town. There's something I need to do. Don't tell anyone you saw me, except Kairi." Namine kissed him on the cheek. "Oh, and make sure you tell Kairi that Ansem says hi. Okay?" Namine disappeared into a corridor of darkness and left Riku, dazed.

_Ansem? Weirdest. Day. Ever. _Riku got up and stood against the wall. Lea had followed him out, missing Namine by a fraction of a second. "Let's go for a walk, Riku." Riku got rid of his Keyblade as he followed Lea.

For the most part, they just walked around the various districts of the city, in silence. Riku sat down in the marketplace, while Lea went to fetch something from Scrooge's fridge. He came back, holding two discs, less than half the size of his chakrams.

"Ten years old, and they look brand new." Lea threw them around a little bit, and attached them to his belt loop.

"Those from when you lived here?" Riku began kicking a pebble around.

Lea smiled "Yup, used to use them to fight."

"They don't look very threatening…"

"Neither did Demyx's sitar."

"Oh, right."

Riku got up, and Lea began to walk back to the house. A red-haired man ran past them, and turned around at the sight of Lea. "Have we met before?"

Lea shook his head. "I don't think so."

Someone on the other side of the Marketplace yelled, "Reno! Get over here!"

"Coming, Rude." The man yelled back. "See you around." He gave a quick salute and ran to the other man.

"That guy looked a lot like you." Riku smirked.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'd think you were twins if I didn't know better."

Lea shook it off and kept walking. "Have you been feeling left out, since we left the islands?"

"What do you mean?" Riku had a slight idea.

"Well, Sora's got Kairi, and Roxas has Namine. We're left all alone."

"Now that you mention it, I know what you mean."

"We've gotta stick together, or we're gonna be left behind."

"Hm?" Riku gave his a puzzled look

"No! Not like that! I just mean, I've got your back, and you've got mine."

"Yeah." Riku fist-bumped Lea.

"Now, let's get back to the party." The two walked back together.

"Was there really any point to this walk?"

"Nah, I just wanted my discs."

So much for a party. Mostly everyone had fallen asleep in Merlin's house. It seemed that Merlin had expanded the internal size of his house, and he had put beds in for everyone. Kairi and Tifa were awake, talking in the corner. He decided not to disturb them just yet, and moved over to an empty bed and sat on it. Lea lit the fireplace, and got into a bed, falling asleep near immediately. Riku lied down and pretended to be asleep. He waited until Tifa had stopped talking, and he heard the rustling of sheets. He got up, just as Kairi was about to fall asleep, and whispered "Kairi! Come here!" Riku stepped outside and Kairi followed him

"What is it?" Kairi rubbed her eyes.

"Namine came back and talked to me." Riku was beginning to feel tired himself.

"What? Why you? Is she ok?"

"I don't know why she talked to me, but she's fine. She says she'll meet us when we get to Twilight Town." Riku yawned.

"I've gotta tell Sora and Roxas. I'll go wake them up."

"You can't. She told me to tell only you."

"Okay. Is she still mad at Roxas?"

"I'm not sure. She didn't really mention Roxas."

Kairi looked up to the sky. "Whatever you're doing, Namine, I hope you're ok."

Riku remembered the other thing he was supposed to tell her. "Oh, she told me to tell you that Ansem says hi. I'm not sure what that means."

"Ansem? Like, as in "Ansem The Wise"?"

"I guess so. All the other Ansems we know turned out to be named something else."

"Well, I'm just glad to know that she's ok." Kairi embraced Riku. "Thank you."

"No problem… I guess." Riku said. Kairi let go and went back inside. Riku followed after staring up at the sky for a minute. "Wait! Kairi, I have something to give to you." He pulled out a Keyhain of a Paopu fruit, with no links, which were replaced with a thin red ribbon. "I have a feeling that you'll need this soon enough."

Kairi felt really weird while she was falling asleep, like something special was going to happen while she was asleep. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling. Her eyes drooped, and she fell asleep, still gripping the keychain that Riku had given her.

At the peak of the dark depths, a silver-haired man stood, contemplating the future. His sword, ten feet long, was pointed to the ground. A dark, angelic wing protruded from his left shoulder, and seemed to have a mind of its own. It fluttered, and attempted to align itself with the town. He forced it back to his shoulder with a jerk. A ghostly figure protruded from his mind and took form.

"You've returned to the gardens." It said to him.

"I have. What does it matter to you, Fair?" The man gripped his sword harder.

"Cloud and the rest are here. You touch them, and he will hurt you. It is not time yet." The man, Fair, moved forward to stand next to the other man.

"You should know better than anyone. The only person who can even lay a scratch on me is Cloud." He grabbed his wing, feeling the spot where two feathers were missing from it.

"Yes, but the boy, the Keybearer, seems promising. One of the two will defeat you. Your time is limited, Sephiroth." The figure returned to Sephiroth's mind.

"Always nice talking to you, Zack." Sephiroth plunged his sword into the earth.

**Remember to Rate and Review! The more reviews I get, the more I'll write! Darkside out!**


	10. This Time I'll Fight

The Forgotten Ones – a KingdomKeyDarkside fanfic

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or Square Enix, or Final Fantasy, or Disney, nor do I own any of the characters in this fanfic.**

Chapter 10 This time… I'll fight.

Kairi awoke, but not in her bed. She was on a floor of stained glass, which seemed to be depicting her life and everyone in it. It was pink and purple, with an elaborate, stained-glass picture of Radiant Garden, and in turn, her. Smaller insignia of the Paopu Fruit and her lucky charm were in circles, around the perimeter of the pillar. Six faces were above the image of the Gardens, of Sora, Riku, Namine, Selphie, Ansem the Wise, and a woman that she did not know. She had blue hair, and slightly resembled Kairi. To the side was her, dressed as she currently was, holding Destiny Place in her right hand.

A woman's voice came out of nowhere, and invaded her mind. _"So much to do, so little time... Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still open. Now, step forward. Can you do it?" _Kairi stepped forward, smirking at the thought of not being able to walk.

Three pillars rose, carrying a sword, shield, and staff. "_If you give it form… it will give you strength. Choose well."_

Kairi walked up to the pillar carrying the staff, and took it. "_The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin__. Is this the power you seek?"_

Kairi nodded. _"Your path is set."_ The staff disappeared from Kairi's hands. _Now, what will you give up in exchange?"_

Kairi immediately stepped up to the pedestal carrying the sword. "_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.. You give up this power?"_

Kairi nodded once again. _"You've chosen the power of the mystic. You've given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you choose?"_

"Yes." As Kairi answered, the stained glass beneath her began to shatter.

She landed on another stained-glass floor, this one depicting another princess of heart. "_You have gained the ability to fight." _Kairi slashed her rod through the air._ "All right! You've got it. Use this power to protect yourself and others."_

At that moment, several Shadows appeared. _"__There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong."_ Kairi began to hack and slash at the Heartless. Realizing that her attacks were not very strong with only a staff, she started to use magic. Within seconds the Shadows had been vanquished. The Dream Rod disappeared.

"_As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one. The day you will close the door is both far off and very near. Don't lose your light."_

Kairi appeared on another stained-glass floor, Depicting Riku and his awakening. The two main colors were gray-blue and silver, with a hint of yellow. The seven faces were herself, Sora, Mickey, Maleficent, Xehanort, a masked boy, and a brown-haired Xehanort. A ray of light shone on the middle picture, the one of the masked boy. She stepped into it, and Heartless appeared, which she easily dispatched. A set of stained-glass stairs appeared, and she ran up them.

The next station was depicting Sora's awakening, or at least what seemed to be. The pictures were obscure. The world was Destiny Islands, which was the only normal thing about it. The majority of it was black. The seven faces were of Roxas, Namine, Lea, Roxas again (or so she thought), A brown-haired man who looked like Xehanort, the same from Riku's station, A black-haired girl that looked like her, and the same blue-haired girl who looked like her from her floor. There was an eighth circle, connected to the second circle with Roxas in it. It contained a black-haired Sora. There were light-gray symbols that she had never seen before in the border of the station. She stepped up to the faces, and the voice returned.

_"Remember, the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."_ Kairi turned around to look at her shadow. It was massive, and taking form of its own. Something appeared in her hand, and she looked down on it, expecting the Dream Rod. Instead, Destiny Place showed up.

"My…Keyblade?"

The Darkside attacked her. Kairi backed up to the edge of the pillar, almost falling over the edge. She began to cast Fire and Thunder on it, which seemed to have no effect. The backlash of the last Fire she cast sent her over the edge. The voice was inside her head now. "But don't be afraid, and don't forget, Kairi. You hold the mightiest weapon of all."

Her fall seemed to slow down. "_So don't forget: You are the one who will close the door."_

Kairi woke up in her bed, breathing heavily, with everyone surrounding her bed.

Sora was right over her, asking "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What's everyone doing?" Kairi looked around to notice that everyone, save for Squall, was there.

"It looked like you were having a seizure. You were muttering "Keyblade" to yourself over and over again. We all got pretty scared." Aerith had brought her a glass of water. "We just wanted to make sure you were OK."

"Thanks everyone, but I'm fine." Kairi pulled her arms out from under her sheets, taking something heavy with her. She looked down to see what was straining her arm, and it was nothing other than Destiny Place, her Keyblade.

"What? Kairi, what exactly what were you dreaming about last night?" Sora's eyes were fixated on the Keyblade.

"Umm… There was a lot of stained glass and Heartless. There was a huge, booming voice telling me what to do." Kairi let go of the Keyblade and rubbed her eyes.

"Kairi…you were awakened. You're a Keybearer now." Sora held her open hand.

"W-what? How?" Kairi took a huge gulp of the water Aerith gave her.

"Your dream… was the awakening itself. What did you choose and what did you abandon?" Riku took Destiny Place in hand and examined it.

"Umm… I took the staff and abandoned the sword." The Keyblade disappeared from Riku's hands and returned to Riku.

"Hm. I took the sword and left the shield. I wanted to be as powerful as possible." Riku summoned his own Keyblade. "I guess this kinda shows that."

Sora summoned the Kingdom Key. "I took the Dream Shield and abandoned the Dream Rod."

The three touched their Keyblades together. The ground began to shake, and it continued for a minute. Kairi jumped out of the bed, and left for the Great Maw. She took a look at the gaping canyon from the highest point of the Borough. Riku and Sora followed her and looked out as well. Heartless were assembled in the thousands.

There was no time to take the proper route. The Heartless were quickly advancing on the town, so they jumped off the wall of the town, gliding over to meet the Heartless and hold them off. Sora carried Kairi, as she couldn't glide.

Roxas woke up, noticing that everyone else was missing. He got up, and summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion, running out the door. Aerith, Cid, Tifa, and Yuffie were assembled outside, watching. "What's going on? Where is everyone?"

"Gone. There are thousands of Heartless out there." Aerith appeared to be praying.

"Sora, Kairi, and Riku left first. Looks like Kairi's gonna get a crash course in fighting." Yuffie was jumping up and down, wanting to get into the fight. "Cloud and Leon left shortly after."

"Wait-that's not Sephiroth, is it?" Cid had a pair of binoculars that he obviously "improved". There were 3 scopes added on, and what appeared to be camera lenses.

"Give me those." Tifa took the binoculars, and took a look. "It is…"

Aerith turned around to say something to Roxas. He was already gone. "Roxas!"

She ran off to the bailey, in an attempt to catch up with Cloud.

Riku and Sora were already into their two-hundredth Heartless, while Kairi was slashing feebly at the Shadows. Sora turned around and tilted her Keyblade a bit, and moving her arm for her. "That's it." Kairi tried swinging her Keyblade the way Sora showed her, and was getting much better at it. She threw in a few spells here and there, and easily dispatched her share.

Sora was busy working away on some Blitz Spears, and Riku was right behind him, ripping through an army of Surveillance Robots. Roxas came in, still dual wielding Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Sora stepped back, and let Roxas take his place. He delicately took the Keychain off of his Keyblade, and attached the one from the King. His Keyblade transformed into Fresh Breeze, and he switched his grip to hold it properly.

Back within the walls, Cid was busy at work, pushing buttons on what appeared to be a wristwatch. "Cid, what are you doing?" Tifa asked. "This isn't the time to be playing with your watch."

A sonar pulse shot out from the watch. "This isn't a wristwatch! I just activated the Claymores." Cid explained. Tifa nodded, and returned to watching.

Sora went back to back with Roxas, in the centre of a large pool of Armored Knights. "Where did all of these Heartless come from?"

Roxas lashed out at a mass of approaching Heartless. "There." He continued slashing with Oblivion, and pointed Oathkeeper at one side of the maw. Sephiroth was standing at the edge of the canyon, smiling at his creation.

Sora unleashed an Explosion in rage, obliterating most of the Heartless within radius. "Keep going! We can't let Cloud get to Sephiroth. Roxas! Take my share. I'll make sure that Cloud doesn't get to him." Roxas nodded, and Sora jumped above all of the Heartless to get to the ravine trail. A load of Heartless noticed the absence of a Keyblade and followed Sora.

Cloud and Leon were rushing out to the maw, with Lea lagging behind. He took his time, watching the edges of the canyon for stray Heartless. Lea noticed something unexpected. He sensed a shift in space on the cliffside, and for a fraction of a second, saw someone. "Braig." He muttered to himself. He cut away from Cloud and Leon to chase him down. As he was running, his chakrams appeared in his hands. He wound up for a toss, and threw his right chakram perfectly, igniting it as it went. It struck the figure, breaking him out of his warping.

Braig appeared longer this time, but his appearance was different. He no longer had a ponytail, and his outfit was a blue guard uniform with a ragged red scarf. He flashed a smile at Lea, and continued running up the cliffside. Lea groaned and chased him. "Where do you think you're going?" Braig said with a cocky tone. He pointed an arrowgun at the parallel rock face and fired, sending a barrage of boulders cascading down on Lea, who barely avoided them.

Several Heartless appeared in front of Lea, which he ripped through. They were nearing the castle at an alarming rate, until Braig warped to the entrance of the corridors. Lea sped up to catch up with him, setting his chakrams, and nearly himself ablaze.

Braig slowed down in the corridors, and began to look around. He found what he was looking for and shot it with a few arrowgun bullets. He shot the security camera for good measure as well. He set off on his path.

Back at the Postern, Cid's watch began to beep. "Grid 12's claymores are offline! Somebody get to the corridors!" Yuffie nodded and ran off.

Lea was busy hunting Braig down. The two had gone opposite directions in the corridors, but they found their way back to each other in a large open space. "What are you doing here?" Lea growled.

"As if I'm gonna answer that. I could ask you the same question, Axel." Braig had pointed an arrowgun at Lea, and his finger was itching to pull the trigger.

"You know better than anyone, Braig. None of us are Nobodies anymore. Ditch the names." Lea pointed a flaming chakram at him, which seemed to be funny to Braig.

"Who cares if we are or not? It's all the same. As long as one member still stands, we all stand." Braig said, with a cocky grin.

"One member?" Lea exclaimed, as Braig disappeared. Lea looked up to the ceiling, to see an array of arrowgun bullets headed straight for him. He blocked them with his left chakram, and threw his right straight for Braig.

Braig teleported out of the way, and Lea's chakram returned to him like a boomerang. He set the three exits on fire to prevent Braig's escape, leaving the one that was unreachable wide open. "You clever little sneak!" Braig said as he made a temporary bunker of sorts in the rubble-covered exit. He combined his two arrowguns to create a sniper rifle, and took aim straight for Lea. Lea's mind returned to his Organization training, where he learned how to fight the other members, should one betray them. His match with Xigbar began just like this one, with him sniping from afar. He remembered the skill he had learned from that battle. _Warp Snipe. _As Braig fired bullets at him (Which were significantly bigger than the ones from a single arrowgun), Lea shot them straight back at him, tipped with fire. Each shot pained Braig a little more than the last. But when Braig fired two at once, each coming from a different direction, Warp Snipe was useless. Lea took a major hit. "Gotcha now!" Braig smirked. He moved down from his bunker and returned to close combat. He had run out of bullets. "R for Reload." He said as his Arrowguns were refilled.

"No you don't!" Lea set the floor on fire, magma blazing. Every step Xigbar took pained him a little, and he could feel his health depleting bit by bit. "Okay, now we're talking!" Braig hung himself upside down in the air, and fired bullets from every direction. Lea foolishly attempted to block them. He was still greatly injured from the two sniper bullets hitting him went to his fail-safe, his limit break. He threw chakrams everywhere, each one massive and blazing. He hit Braig several times, and allowed himself a smile once it was over. Braig saw the opportunity and close-range shot Lea with multiple arrowgun bullets. The flames on the ground and exits were doused, and Braig ran towards the study. "You… Got… Me." Lea said as he fell to the ground. Lea closed his eyes.

Leon and Cloud were into a run by now, and had reached the ravine trail. Cloud stopped as he sensed Aerith coming from behind. He turned around. "Aerith, you can't be here. It's too dangerous."

Aerith shook her head. "You can't be here either. Someone has to defend the town from inside. Leon and the rest will be fine." _Not to mention Sephiroth's out there. _She thought to herself.

"You're right. I'll come back with you." Cloud took Aerith's hand as a horde of Heartless came at Leon.

"Leon! We can't let Cloud get to the maw!" Sora shouted as he carved a path through the armored knights."

"He's gone. Back to defend the city. What's the matter?" Leon reached Sora, and they went back-to-back to defend.

"Sephiroth's back." Sora shouted over his back.

"He can't see him. We may not find him if he leaves again." Leon's Gunblade enlarged, and he began to rip through the Armored Knights. For two master swordsmen like Cloud and Sora, the Heartless were no match. They were completely dispatched in seconds.

Braig had searched Ansem's study over several times, and yet he hadn't found what he was looking for yet. He shot at the picture of Xehanort in rage. The painting broke, and a picture floated through the air to the ground. Braig picked it up. "Perfect." He smiled to himself. He pulled out a disc and headed to Ansem's computer. He loaded the disc, and entered 6 names, including his own. A passage opened up in the Heartless Manufactory below. Braig took the elevator down, and quickly ran down the stairway that opened. A long corridor was at the bottom of the stairs, and Braig took his time going down the path.

Yuffie raced through the corridors, looking for the threat. She reached the spot right before Ansem's study, and saw Lea on the ground. She pointed her Shiruken to the sky and shouted "Curaga!" Lea's eyes opened to see Yuffie there.

"Hey." Lea remembered what happened. "Quick! To Ansem's study!" Lea ran off, with Yuffie following him.

The study was empty. Yuffie and Lea searched every inch, including the computer room. "Braig's gone." Lea muttered.

Yuffie looked out the window overlooking the manufactory. "Look down there. Maybe he hasn't gotten away yet. The two of them quickly reached the staircase and raced down it.

Braig had reached the end of the corridor and found what he was looking for. He opened the door to find a room, completely gray, walls covered in symbols of the Organization. The only items in the room were a throne, which was covered in a thick layer of dust, and a pile of armor, with a Keyblade on top. "Score two for me." Xigbar placed a hand on the armor, another on the Keyblade, and noticed that the door opened. Lea and Yuffie were on the other side, and Braig fell back into a corridor of darkness as soon as the two of them saw him.

Lea punched the wall. "Braig! This is typical Organization crap. What do they want Aqua's armor for?"

"Wait, who's Aqua?" Yuffie kept a distance from Lea.

"Aqua? What are you talking about?" Lea looked puzzled.

"You just said. Aqua's armor."

"…I don't know. That came out of nowhere." Lea scratched his head. "I remember… meeting a girl named Aqua once. Only for a second. We ran into each other in the marketplace… But that was 13 years ago."

_Another corridor of darkness appeared on the beach. The waves continued their near-silent attack on the slate-gray shore. Ansem didn't even need to look. "Did you find the file, Namine?"_

"_Y-yes." Namine clutched something in her hands._

"_And do you remember the name?"_

"_Her name is-"_

"_Ansem, has the girl returned yet?" A blue-haired woman asked._

"_She is right here… Aqua." Ansem stood up. "I believe introductions are in order. Namine, this is Aqua. She is… and old friend. Aqua, this is Namine. She was the key in repairing Sora's memories."_

"_It's nice to meet you." Aqua extended a hand._

_Namine took it. "Likewise." She turned to Ansem. "Ansem, please. You must come back with me. Your world is in danger, and this place will not be safe for long… it will soon be repopulated."_

_ Ansem shook his head. "I cannot leave yet. Why, you may ask? The time is not right yet."_

_ Namine fell to her knees. "When will the time be right?"_

_ "When the one I care about most is in danger. You should know who that is."_

_ Namine picked herself up, brushed sand off of her knees, and nodded. "I'll be waiting for that time."_

_ Ansem smiled. "Now, take that report, and put it somewhere where Roxas will find it. He needs to know about her."_

_ "Okay." Namine began walking to the rock face where the corridor would open. Ansem returned his gaze to the ocean. Aqua followed her, and stopped her when Ansem was out of earshot._

"_Namine, I have a favor to ask." Aqua removed a blue paopu-shaped charm from her pocket. "Take this to Kairi. She's going to need it soon."_

_Why was everything about Kairi? When would she be the one who needed things? "No. I think you can manage doing it yourself." With that, Namine disappeared._

"_Suit yourself." Aqua opened up a corridor and passed through it._

_Ansem was once again left alone to contemplate what was coming. I was wrong about Aqua's keyblade. Kairi didn't have it. Nobody does._

Before they knew it, The Heartless had disappeared. Kairi looked up to the cliff to see Sephiroth linger for a second, and then disappear.

"It's over…" Kairi dispersed with her Keyblade, as did everyone else.

Sora and Leon put their weapons at their sides. "Why did they leave?"

"Heartless don't tire. Either Sephiroth gave up, or they got something that they wanted." Leon took a huge breath.

"That's not good. Whatever they needed… they got. That's never good."

Everybody gathered at the Postern. Lea came running from the restoration site with Yuffie. "Braig invaded the castle! He took Aqua's armor and Keyblade!" Lea said, out of breath.

"Who's Aqua?" Sora asked.

"Beats me." Leon muttered. Everyone looked at each other. "Apparently, it beats everyone else as well.

"Yeah. I can't remember much about her. It's a miracle I remembered her at all." Lea muttered. "Anyway, I saw Braig at the Bailey. He was headed for the Restoration Site, so I chased him down. He broke the claymores in the Corridors, and he beat me. He managed to get into Ansem's study and open a secret room below the Manufactory. Aqua's armor was there, with a Keyblade. He took it, so yeah."

"It's okay Lea. I don't know what Braig could do with an old set of armor, and a Keyblade that he can't use. It's pretty much useless anyway." Yuffie put a hand on his shoulder.

"Still, the fact that he has a Keyblade, even though he can't use it, scares me. We should be on our toes." Riku brushed hair out of his eyes.

"You're right. In the meantime, we'll be fixing up the corridors, from what Lea did to them." Yuffie smiled.

Cid went ballistic on Lea. "Do you have any idea how much it cost to put in that Claymore system? And not only that, you destroyed my security cameras too! You owe me so much munny!"

Lea raised his hands to defend himself, and backed up. "Woah, I didn't destroy anything. It was all Braig, I told you."

Kairi's phone vibrated. She checked it to see a text message from Namine. _When are you coming? I've been waiting forever! Get to Twilight Town already! _Kairi placed her phone back into her pocket, and turned to Sora. "We've gotta go. Namine's waiting in Twilight Town." Sora nodded.

"We'll leave in 15 minutes." Sora ran off to prepare the gummi ship.

Everyone exchanged their last goodbyes. Kairi left to take one last walk through the marketplace before they went. _Time to leave home once again… No matter how many times I leave, it still feels wrong. _Kairi climbed up behind the shops to get a look at what used to be Hollow Bastion. At that moment, a Corridor of Darkness opened behind her. She summoned her Keyblade, and tried to mentally prepare herself for whatever lied beyond the curtain of darkness. The corridor remained, but nobody came through it. "Show yourself!" She yelled. A figure walked through the corridor, leaving it open.

"Kairi, right?" A blue-haired woman revealed herself. _No weapon, no nothing. _Kairi rid herself of her Keyblade.

"Yeah."

"I have something for you. Give me your hand." Kairi put her hand out. The woman put a paopu-shaped object in her palm. "I have a feeling you're going to need this soon enough. Hold onto it, okay?" Kairi nodded, and the woman stepped back into the corridor.

Kairi shook her head, and placed the charm in her pocket.

Meanwhile, Riku had the same idea as Kairi. He returned to Hollow Bastion to take a final look around. He went back to the Final Keyhole, his favorite place in the castle. Something was wrong. He could feel it in the air. A darkness like none other.

"ANSEM! SHOW YOURSELF!" Riku summoned his Keyblade with a yell.

At first, a silhouette appeared, then what appeared to be a ghost. Finally, the figure showed it's true form "Such great light coming from something so dark…How is such a thing possible?" Ansem warped, so he was standing face to face with Riku. Without notice, his Guardian appeared and took him in his fist. The Guardian tightened his grip gradually.

"I'll tell you why, Ansem. Darkness just isn't my thing anymore." Riku choked out. "Dawn is the path I follow." Riku built a mass of energy in his empty hand. With an outstretched, open palm, he took a direct shot at the Guardian with his Dark aura. "Nobody to hide behind anymore." Riku jumped back and held his Keyblade high.

"Who said I needed to hide?" Ansem summoned twin swords, modeled after Soul Eater. As he slashed them around, they sent out shockwaves of electricity and darkness, which Riku blocked. Ansem warped once again, behind Riku, taking multiple free shots at him. Riku fell to his knee.

"Wanna play hardball, do ya?" Riku summoned his second Keyblade, Incarnation. "Try this on for size!" Riku enveloped both of his Keyblades in light, making them near unstoppable. Strikes, jabs, blocks and parries went back and forth forever, until Riku found an opening, and inserted Incarnation into it, turning it like a key. A beam of light went straight through Ansem, and he was gone, save for a ball of light. Riku felt Incarnation pulse, and the sphere merged with the pearl in the hilt of the blade. Riku became dizzy, and fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Riku! Riku! Wake up! Everyone's waiting!" Riku opened his eyes to see Sora shaking him. _That must have been a dream. _Riku stood up. Sora shook him one last time for good measure. "We've been looking for you for the past hour! We've gotta get to the ship!" Riku nodded and followed behind an already running Sora.

The ship was parked at the postern. Riku and Sora got in, and piloted the ship out of the world barrier.

**Sorry for the Wait! Hope it was worth it! Keep reading and reviewing!**

**By the way, don't forget to check out my other fic, High School Never Ends!  
**


	11. Memories of you and me

Chapter 11 Memories of you and me will always be together, inside him.

The usual orange glow was cast over Twilight Town, giving every building, object, and person a golden tinge. The world was in its usual state of peace, save for the three teenagers running up Market Street.

"Olette, what is wrong with you? I had Seifer right where I wanted him!" Hayner groaned, trying to keep up with his Struggle Bat still in his right hand, and his left wrist in the tight grasp of Olette's hand.

Pence was running behind the two of them, licking away at his Sea-Salt Ice Cream. "Why is it always running?" He mumbled to himself.

"I'm telling you two, something's up! Something's telling me that something is going down at the Train Station!" Olette had a determined look on her face. Hayner sighed and silently followed.

The three (save for Olette) were surprised to see a gummi ship descending from the sky. "Told you so." Olette muttered with a smirk on her face. The ramp lowered, and Sora, Kairi, Lea, Riku, and a moping Roxas.

"Kairi!" Olette ran up to hug her. "How are things working out between you and Sora?" Olette whispered into her ear.

"Absolutely perfect." Kairi whispered back. The two of them smiled.

"Sora! Roxas!" Hayner and Pence shouted. The four of them exchanged high fives.

After the expected "What are you doing here?" conversation, and removing the suspicion around Lea, the nine of them split into smaller groups. Kairi and Olette went off to go shopping at Sunset Terrace, Pence and Riku went to the mansion to check out the computer, and Sora, Roxas, Lea, and Hayner went to play Struggle in the Sandlot.

Roxas blocked Lea's oncoming Struggle Sword with two of his own. "Y'know, I don't wanna sound like the stickler here, but shouldn't we be trying to find out more about Sora's…problem?" _Man, I sound like Rai._

"Don't worry about it, Roxas! What's the worst that could happen? It's not like he's gonna turn into a Heartless anytime soon…"

Roxas stopped. "What do you mean, "anytime soon?"

Lea lowered his voice. "Look, when a Keyblade Master has a bad dream, it's never something you can just brush off. Having seen the Worlds and protecting them… it puts you on a different level of mentality. Though you don't know it, you can see and feel things others can't. Dreams are powerful things. Have you ever wondered why Sora has such a strong sense of justice? He's unknowingly tapped into that power, and to an extent, knows what needs to be done, and what's at risk if he doesn't do it. Sora's been dreaming about falling into darkness, correct? So wouldn't you deduce that means he may revert back to a Heartless? Jeez, I sound like Xemnas. I'll shut up now."

Roxas took what Lea said to heart. "Well, if you're not going to do anything about it, I will. I'm actually worried about my Somebody." Roxas walked off.

"Where are you going?"

"To the mansion. I may be able to find some answers there." Roxas began running, and soon disappeared from view.

Lea looked over at Sora and Hayner, who were still exchanging blows. He sighed and began walking to the Tram Common.

"I remember this computer. I used it to go to the Virtual Twilight Town that DiZ- I mean, Ansem the Wise created. I was sort of his… lab assistant." Riku looked over all the screens, each showing a different scene from the Town.

"Really? That's cool!" Pence looked at the screen displaying the usual spot. "There's our hangout…" He looked over to the screen looking at Station Heights. "There's us- wait, what are Hayner, Olette, and I doing in this?"

"Roxas lived in here while Sora's memories were being repaired. He created a perfect replica of the town, including all the people who lived in it." Riku looked down. "You three were- nevermind."

Roxas walked down the stairs into the computer room. "Hey, Roxas." Pence said rather awkwardly. Roxas feigned a smile and kept walking, towards the memory pods. Once he was out of earshot, Pence sighed. "What's wrong with him?"

Riku hit a few keys on the keyboard. "C'mon, I'll show you." A beam shot down right next to Pence. "Touch it. It'll take you into the virtual town." Pence touched the beam, as did Riku.

One bright flash of light later, the two of them were in the exact same place, except the computer was fried. "What happened here?"

"Welcome to the Virtual Twilight Town. That display right there is courtesy of Roxas." Riku smirked. "He was a little angry at Ansem after he remembered who he was."

"That sucks. Anyway, show me what you were going to show me." Riku led Pence up the stairs and out into the Tram Common.

"Oh my god… it's a perfect replica." Pence pointed people out from school, the shops, everywhere.

"Yep. Now, Virtual you and Virtual Olette and Hayner should be back at the Usual Spot by now, so let's start there."

The two of them arrived at the Usual Spot, with Pence listening at the curtain. "We're in there, but I can't hear a thing."

"I'll freeze time then. We can hide in the corner." Riku waved his arm out in front of him, and a virtual keyboard showed up. "F-R-E-E-Z-E." He muttered as he typed.

The world came to a stop as Riku hit the "Enter" key. Pence was in awe. "Cool!" The two of them walked casually into the usual spot. Riku immediately hid in the corner, but Pence stopped to admire Ansem's workmanship. "These virtual copies of us are perfect…"

"They should be. He crafted them from your memories, with a little help from Namine." Riku beckoned for him to come into the corner. "Now get in here so I can start time again!"

Pence crept into the corner as Riku brought up the keyboard again to type in 'GO'. Time returned to normal, and the two of them listened closely.

"It's a year today since Roxas disappeared." Virtual Hayner sighed. "One whole year since I've picked up a struggle bat."

"A year since we've had Sea-Salt Ice Cream." Virtual Pence mused.

"And a year since we've been up to the top of the clock tower." A tear rolled down Virtual Olette's cheek.

"And a whole year since any of us have really smiled." Virtual Hayner laughed in spite of himself. "Things just aren't the same without him. Nothing at all."

"Do you remember when he won the struggle tournament, and above all that, even beat Setzer? He was great!" Virtual Pence flashed a less-than-enthusiastic smile.

"And then what he did with the trophy…" Virtual Hayner pulled his red orb out of his pocket, as Virtual Pence and Virtual Olette did the same with their green and yellow orbs. More tears rolled down Olette's cheeks.

"And then, the day that we were going to investigate the mansion, he just up and disappeared." Virtual Olette sniffled. "I hope wherever he is, he's okay."

"Let's just hope whatever was stealing those pictures of him didn't get the real Roxas." Virtual Hayner slammed his fist on the table. "He was our best friend… and now he's gone."

"Let's go down to the sandlot." Virtual Pence suggested. The other two nodded.

Outside the Usual Spot, Virtual Olette headed towards the Tram Common. "I-I've gotta go get some stuff. I'll meet you down there." Virtual Hayner and Pence nodded.

Riku and Pence silently followed Virtual Hayner and Virtual Pence. At the sandlot, Riku stopped at the first building, and tapped the side with his Keyblade. A ladder appeared, and the two of them climbed up.

When looking over, it seemed that the entire population of Twilight Town was present. In the middle of the sandlot, people were dropping photos of Roxas. Virtual Olette pushed through the crowd, appearing to hold a photo of her, Virtual Pence, Virtual Hayner, and Roxas outside the mansion, a stick of Sea-Salt Ice Cream, and a struggle bat. She dropped them onto the pile.

Riku whispered to Pence. "Now do you see what he meant to Virtual Twilight Town?"

Pence was shaking. "I-I-I've gotta fix this. I want to remember! Take me back to Twilight Town so I can fix it!" A tear rolled down his cheek.

"Okay."

"If Roxas was this close with all of us… We owe it to him to treasure these memories." Pence said as he climbed down the ladder. Riku just jumped.

"It's gonna take forever for you to decode all of the data. Set aside lots of time. And be sure to get your summer homework done early this year." Riku laughed.

Pence nodded. The two of them reached the mansion, and touched the beam that would take them back.

Returning to the world they had abandoned, Riku and Pence exited the mansion and went to the Tram Common for some Ice Cream.

Roxas, still moping, returned from the memory pods. Looking around, his attention was brought to the computer, portal opened to the Virtual Twilight Town. Holding back a tear, Roxas touched the beam and felt himself being digitized.

Roxas materialized in the Virtual basement, smashed computer and all. He laughed at the memory of obliterating that thing. A black coat was thrown on the floor, and he picked it up. Donning it, he felt scared, remembering what it represented, but also sheltered and protected. Looking down at his sneakers, they had turned their usual Organization black. He scuffed at the floor and went into the side room. He pulled up the hood, for fear of being recognized by one of the virtual denizens snooping in the basement.

The scorch marks were still on the ground from his duel with Axel. He ran his hand over one, to find it was still hot to the touch, even through his black gloves. The odd portal was still in the corner. Roxas remembered his inability to touch it last time, and decided to give it one more go. He reached his hand out, and just as he was about to touch the portal, his hand swerved away. Frustrated, he backed up, summoned a small fireball, and threw it at the portal. "That should teach you." He grumbled, turning to walk down the hallway.

Time seemed to slow down as Roxas traversed the hall that once led to his reconnection with Sora. He absorbed every detail, and felt as though he was walking down the hallway for the first time all over again.

He arrived at the bend in the hallway, where two spent pods and numerous fresh, unused ones stood. He turned the corner, and time almost stopped as he arrived at the door.

On the other side, Namine emerged from a Corridor of Darkness, only for moments. She dropped a file on the ground and fled back into the Corridor, which dissipated as the door opened.

The brightness of the entire room left Roxas slightly blinded as he walked in. The massive pod was still there, layers spread out to the floor, revealing the small inner cavity that once housed his Other's body. Still taking in every detail, he counted every last layer of the pod. The more he stared at it, the more he longed to just get in and fall asleep. He walked over and sat down on one of the raised layers to think. His attention was immediately brought to a sealed file lying on the floor. He picked it up, and glanced at the manila cover. Six words were stamped on in black ink.

_No. i Reports_

_Superior's Eyes only_

_ No. i… Her! _Roxas's eyes widened. Roxas tore the seal off of the file and leafed through the papers. _A name… give me a name! _He flipped back to the beginning of the file and read it more carefully.

_A name defines an object. Describes the span of it. Gives it purpose. We embarked upon the Replica Program to ensure our new power stays ours. Now, our shadow puppet, "No. i," lives. It needs a name. Something to define it. To give the hollow vessel purpose._

Roxas couldn't bring himself to finish the page. He looked at the title of the next entry… _Roxas. _

_Who would've named a part of the report after me? _Looking closer, Roxas recognized Axel's handwriting.

_Seems like we're getting new members every day. No. XIII was a boy, Roxas. Now we've got a No. XIV,_

The page ended. _I can't… not without Sora. _Roxas folded the file and placed it inside his jacket. He stood up to leave the virtual world and return to the real one.

Meanwhile, Kairi and Olette sat down at a bench on Sunset Terrace to talk. Olette's arms each had three shopping bags strung on them, while Kairi's hands were free.

"Kairi, what's wrong? You haven't bought a thing." Olette looked concerned.

Kairi looked out over the town, admiring the orange hue of everything in sight. "That's because I'm not here to shop. I'm looking for my friend. She said that she was waiting for us here."

"Well, what does she look like?" Olette dropped her shopping bags.

"Her name is Namine. She's my height, has blonde hair, and was wearing a white dress last time we saw her."

Olette paused to think. "I can't say that I've seen her." She replied after a minute

Kairi frowned. "I don't want to give up, but it seems there's no other choice. We've covered the entire town by now. I guess we'll just have to wait for her..."

"To find you?" Kairi and Olette turned in surprise.

Back at the sandlot, Sora had beaten Hayner for the millionth time in a row. "Sora, how'd you get so good?" Hayner asked, lying on the ground. Sora opened his mouth to answer, only to be stopped. "On second thought, don't answer that."

Sora smiled. "Just be glad I was beating you with a struggle bat and not a Keyblade." He put the struggle bat away and offered Hayner his hand to help him up. Hayner took it and pulled himself up. "You know the deal."

Hayner, apparently shedding his fatigue, bolted towards the tram common. "Last one buys!" Sora ran after him with mock effort, knowing he could easily make Hayner eat his dust.

Hayner was already at the stand by the time Sora arrived, asking for two sticks of sea-salt ice cream. "That's 15 munny, Hayner." The old woman handed Hayner the two sticks.

"My friend Sora here's picking it up this time." Hayner laughed. Sora shelled out the munny and handed it to the woman. The two boys walked away from the stand and towards market street.

"Clock tower?" Sora turned to Hayner.

"Clock tower."

The two boys rushed to the tower, fearing their ice cream would melt before they arrived. At the top of the tower, Roxas was already sitting there, apparently waiting with ice cream of his own. "Took you two long enough." he muttered between bites.

"Waiting for something?" Hayner asked. He and Sora sat down on opposite sides of Roxas.

"Just for my friends to show up, and here you are." Roxas pushed Hayner by the shoulder. Sora and Hayner unwrapped their ice cream and began working away at it.

After the three of them were down to the sticks, Sora was examining his. "What does "WINNER" mean? What did I win?"

"It's worth a free stick of ice cream." Hayner and Roxas said in unison. They looked at each other, and looked away.

"I'm stuffed right now. I guess I'll save it for later." Sora pocketed the stick.

"You're here early." The three turned around to see Lea walk around the corner and sit down.

"No, you're just late. I told you to be here like, ten minutes ago." Roxas smiled.

Lea laughed and looked out to the sun.. "Hey, guys. Betcha don't know why the sun sets red."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Y'see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all of them, red is the one that travels the furthest." He said in an impression of Lea's voice. Sora and Hayner laughed. Lea, on the other hand, wasn't amused.

"I'm guessing I told you already."

"Yep." Roxas shuffled a bit, and felt something rub against his chest. "Oh, right. Sora, I'm glad that you're here. You need to see this." Roxas produced the file from his jacket.

"What's this...?" Sora flipped through the file, and the other three tried to look over his shoulder. "The... No. i report?"

"I wrote that section! I still have it memorized." Lea looked away and recited it from memory while the others read the file. "Seems like we're getting new members every day. No. XIII was a boy, Roxas. Now we've got a No. XIV... I can't remember the rest."

Roxas flipped the page and read the name. "...Xion?"

Memories came flooding back to Roxas, like some mental dam was broken. All those times he and Axel shared ice cream, she was there. For the missions that he couldn't remember who his partner was, it was her. The countless days they spent looking for her came back. And the final day. The day he himself erased her from existence, the only thing she left behind a thalassa shell.

Roxas stood up, clutching at his head, trying to process the memories returning. He flailed around, making Sora, Lea and Hayner back up. He lost his footing and fell.

"Roxas! NO!" The three said in unison. They looked over the edge to see a flash of white light... and Roxas was gone. Sora dove down from the top of the tower, and rolled to safety. Lea and Hayner turned and ran, joining Sora at the plaza a minute later. Hayner ran off to gather the others.

"ROXAS!" Sora called out.

"ROXAS!"

"ROXAS!"

Another flash of white light. Two beings materialized, lying on the ground outside the station doors. One was holding the other in his arms, crying.

Sora ran over to the pair, and immediately recognized Roxas. "Roxas! What happened?"

Roxas looked up at Sora, tears in his eyes. When Lea had run over to join them, he spoke. "She's back... the third piece." He pulled back the hood on the black coat the other figure was wearing. Sora saw her face and couldn't look away.

"Kairi? When did you dye your hair black?"

Lea smacked him.

"No, Sora. Not Kairi. Your third piece. My third piece. A replica of us." Roxas looked down into the girl's closed eyes.

"Number XIV." Lea muttered.

"Xion." Roxas whispered.

Xion opened her eyes. "Roxas... Axel... Sora..."

Roxas hugged her. "Welcome back, old friend."

**It's the cliffhanger of doom! More soon, I promise. I keep forgetting because I'm not getting e-mails saying that I'm getting reviews! So review if you want me to write faster. Simple as that.**


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